Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
USDA’s latest North Carolina crop report continues to lower expectations for yields and production of major crops in the state.
Weather has hampered farmers in many areas of the state this year, Commissioner Troxler says. In some regions, wet conditions in the spring delayed planting. And a good chunk of the state has dealt with dry conditions ever since.
The September forecast for corn yields is 110 bushels per acre. That’s down 22 bushels from last year and five bushels below the August report. Total corn production in the state is now projected at 18 percent below last year’s total.
Cotton, peanuts and soybeans all had record yields in 2014, but it doesn’t look like any of the three will set records this year.
Like corn, the projected cotton yield also has dropped since August. The latest forecast is for 891 pounds per acre. That’s 121 pounds less than last month’s forecast and 147 pounds less than last year’s record yield.
The peanut yield forecast now stands at 3,800 pounds per acre, which is 500 pounds less than in 2014. And total production is forecast to decrease 15 percent from last year.
Soybeans are projected to yield an average of 33 bushels per acre, which is seven bushels below last year’s record. Total soybean production in our state is now forecast at just over 60 million bushels. That’s 13 percent below the 2014 total, even though N.C. farmers planted more acres of soybeans this year.
Click on the audio player below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda talk about the latest crop production forecast for North Carolina.
[Audio:/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_9-22-15.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for Sept. 22]
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