Rows of soybeans
North Carolina cotton, peanuts and soybeans posted record yields this year, according to the November crop report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
For cotton and peanut farmers, though, the news is bittersweet because total production is down from last year.
Cotton is forecast to have a yield of 921 pounds per acre, surpassing the record of 900 pounds set in 2004. There are fewer acres of cotton this year, so total production is forecast at 710,000 bales, a 6 percent drop from 2008.
Peanut yields are forecast to be 3,700 pounds per acre, equaling the record set just last year. Harvested acres are expected to be down 31,000 from last year, to 66,000. Overall production is forecast at 244 million pounds, a 32 percent decrease from 2008.
Soybean yields are forecast to be 34 bushels per acre, which equals the record set in 2004. Production is expected to total 59.8 million bushels, a 9 percent increase from 2008. Harvested acres are forecast at 1.76 million, up 90,000 acres from a year ago.
Although not a record, corn yields are forecast to be 115 bushels per acre, up 37 bushels from last year. Production is forecast to be 92 million bushels, 42 percent more than 2008, despite the fact that harvested acres are down 30,000 this year, to 800,000 acres.