Virginia soybeans, peanuts, cotton all post record high yields

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced today the crop summary data for 2012 as reported by the Virginia Field Office of the National Agriculture Statistics Services.

Corn for grain yields averaged 103 bushels per acre, down 15 bushels from the previous year’s yield. Production is estimated at 36.1 million bushels, 10 percent below the 2011 production. Corn for grain harvested area was 350,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from last year. Corn silage harvested acreage totaled 150,000 acres, with an average yield of 17.0 tons per acre.

Nationally, corn yields were 123.4 bushels per acre, 23.8 bushels below the 2011 average.

Soybean yields averaged 42 bushels per acre, up 2 bushels from last year, which is a record high. Area harvested, at 580,000 acres, is an increase of 30,000 acres from last year’s soybean acreage. Soybean production is estimated at 24.4 million bushels, 11 percent more than last year’s production.

Nationally, soybean production was down 3 percent from 2011, but the U.S. production was still the seventh largest on record.

Virginia’s peanut producers harvested 20,000 acres, up 5,000 acres from 2011. Peanut yields averaged 4,200 pounds per acre, up 100 pounds per acre from last year. This is a record yield surpassing the previous record of 4,100 pounds in 2011. Peanut production is estimated at 84.0 million pounds, up 37 percent from the 2011 production.

Cotton production is estimated at 200,000 bales, up 23 percent from 2011. The cotton yield averaged 1,129 pounds per acre, up 453 pounds from last year which is a record high. Producers harvested 85,000 acres in 2012, a decrease of 30,000 acres from last year.

Flue-cured tobacco yields averaged 2,400 pounds per acre, up 170 pounds per acre from last year’s yield of 2,230. Virginia’s production is expected to total 48.0 million pounds, up 10 percent from last year. Burley tobacco yields averaged 1,750 pounds per acre, down 150 pounds from 2011. Fire-cured tobacco yields are estimated at 2,300 pounds per acre, up 200 pounds from last year. Burley production is estimated at 4.7 million pounds, up 24 percent from 2011. Fire-cured tobacco production is estimated at 874 thousand pounds, up 4 percent from last year.

All hay production in Virginia is estimated at 3.0 million tons, down 2 percent from last year. Alfalfa production is 349 thousand tons, up 21 percent from last year’s total. All other hay production is at 2.7 million tons, down 5 percent from last year.

Virginia wheat producers planted 290,000 acres of winter wheat, an increase of 10,000 acres from last year and an increase of 20,000 acres from 2 years ago.