Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The USDA’s August crop report for North Carolina indicates yields are looking good across the board.
The cotton yield is forecast at 967 pounds per acre, a 321-pound increase from last year. Overall production is predicted to be 705,000 bales, which is almost 106 percent greater than a year ago.
Other items in the report:
- The peanut crop is projected to be bigger than last year. The forecast calls for 4,100 pounds per acre, which is about 19 percent higher than the 2016 yield. Production is forecast to increase by 42 percent, to 484 million pounds.
- The wheat crop has a yield of 57 bushels per acre, and total production is up 61 percent from last year.
- Soybean production is forecast to increase by 9 percent this year, and the yield is predicted to be 38 bushels per acre, a slight increase.
- The average corn yield is projected to increase by 11 bushels per acre, to 140, which is close to the state record of 142 bushels per acre. Total corn production is projected to drop about 5 percent this year because fewer acres were planted.
- The flue-cured tobacco crop is forecast to increase by 7 percent this year, to 352 million pounds. The projected yield is 2,200 pounds per acre, up 200 pounds from last year.
Click on the link below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda talk about the latest crop forecast.
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