CALIFORNIA
FIELD CROP VALUE
Estimates of
acres harvested, yield and
production have been
released for major field
crops grown in California
for 2011, 2010 and 2009.
USDA GEARING
UP
TO CONDUCT
2012 CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE
Surveys are
now arriving in mailboxes
around the nation to help
identify all active farms in
the United States. The
National Agricultural
Classification Survey (NACS),
which asks landowners
whether or not they are
farming and for basic farm
information, is one of the
most important early steps
used to determine who should
receive a 2012 Census of
Agriculture report form.
The Census of Agriculture,
conducted every five years
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s National
Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS), is a
complete count of U.S. farms
and ranches and the people
who operate them.
“We are
asking everyone who receives
the NACS to respond even if
they are not farming so that
we build the most accurate
and comprehensive mailing
list to account for all of
U.S. agriculture in the
Census,” said NASS’s Census
and Survey Director, Renee
Picanso. “The Census is the
leading source of facts
about American agriculture
and the only source of
agricultural statistics that
is comparable for each
county in the nation. Farm
organizations, businesses,
government decision-makers,
commodity market analysts,
news media, researchers and
others use Census data to
inform their work.” NACS is
required by law as part of
the U.S. Census of
Agriculture. By this same
law, all information
reported by individuals is
kept confidential. NASS will
mail the 2012 Census of
Agriculture later this year
and data will be collected
into early 2013.
“The NACS
survey is the first step in
getting a complete count, so
we ask everyone who receives
a survey to complete and
return it,” said Picanso.
“The Census is a valuable
way for producers and rural
America to show their
strength – in numbers.”
The
2012 Census of Agriculture
is your voice, your future,
your responsibility. For
more information about NACS,
the Census of Agriculture,
or to add your name to the
Census mail list, visit
www.agcensus.usda.gov.
NASS provides accurate,
timely, useful and objective
statistics in service to
U.S. agriculture. We invite
you to provide feedback on
our products and services.
Sign up at
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/subscriptions
and look for “NASS Data User
Community.”
CALIFORNIA
FIELD CROP PRICES - JANUARY
2012
Prices
received by California
farmers at mid-January were
above December 2011 for dry
edible beans, all potatoes,
fall potatoes, all types of
hay and alfalfa hay. Prices
for cottonseed were below
the previous month. Mid
-January prices for wheat
and upland cotton were not
published to avoid
disclosure of individual
operations. There were
insufficient data to
establish a Mid-January
price for barley and spring
potatoes. Prices were above
a year earlier for all types
of hay.
U.S. PRICES
RECEIVED INDEX
The
preliminary All Farm
Products Index of Prices
Received by Farmers in
January, at 186 percent,
based on 1990-1992=100,
increased 7 points (3.9
percent) from December. The
Crop Index is up 10 points
(5.1 percent), but the
Livestock Index decreased 1
point (0.6 percent).
Producers received higher
prices for cattle, broilers,
soybeans, and corn and lower
prices for eggs, milk,
wheat, and lettuce. In
addition to prices, the
overall index is also
affected by the seasonal
change based on a 3-year
average mix of commodities
producers sell. Increased
monthly movement of corn,
soybeans, cattle, and rice
offset decreased marketings
of milk, broilers, cotton,
and cottonseed.
The
preliminary All Farm
Products Index is up 20
points (12 percent) from
January 2011. The Food
Commodities Index, at 171,
increased 2 points (1.2
percent) from last month and
12 points (7.5 percent) from
January 2011.
The January
All Crops Index, at 208,
increased 5.1 percent from
December and 10 percent
above January 2011. Index
increases for feed grains &
hay and potatoes & dry beans
more than offset index
decreases for commercial
vegetables, food grains,
fruits & nuts, and oilseeds.
The January
Food Grains Index, at 225,
declined 4.3 percent from
the previous month but is
2.3 percent above a year
ago. The January all wheat
price, at $228.67 per ton,
is down $11.00 from December
but $5.56 above January
2011.The January Feed Grains
& Hay Index, at 255, is up
0.8 percent from last month
and 22 percent above a year
ago. The corn price, at
$210.71, is up $1.42 from
last month and $34.28 above
January 2011. The all hay
price, at $172 per ton,
decreased $5 from December,
but is $60.00 higher than
last January. Sorghum
grain, at $10.40 per cwt.,
is 10 cents less than
December, but 91 cents above
January last year.
The January
Upland Cotton Index, at 144,
is down 1.4 percent from
December, but 6.7 percent
above last year. The
January price, at 87.4 cents
per pound, declined 1.1
cents from the previous
month, but is 5.3 cents
above last January.
The January
Potatoes & Dry Beans Index,
at 175, is up 4.2 percent
from last month and 15
percent above January 2011.
The all potato price, at
$9.08 per cwt., is unchanged
from December and last
January. The all dry bean
price, at $45.80 per cwt.,
is up $4.00 from the
previous month and $19.60
above January 2011.
FEBRUARY 1
FALL POTATO STOCKS
California’s
fall potato stocks totaled
1.70 million cwt. as of
February 1, 2012, up 42
percent from last year.
February 1 stocks accounted
for 41 percent of
production, compared with 42
percent a year ago.
The 13 major
potato States held 187
million cwt. of potatoes in
storage February 1, 2012, up
4 percent from a year ago.
Potatoes in storage
accounted for 49 percent of
the 2011 fall storage
States' production, one
percentage point below
February 1, 2011. Potato
disappearance, at 193
million cwt., was 9 percent
above February 1, 2011.
Season-to-date shrink and
loss, at 19.3 million cwt.,
was up 16 percent from the
same date in 2011.
Processors in the 9 major
States have used 106 million
cwt. of potatoes this
season, up 15 percent from
the same period last year.
Dehydrating usage accounted
for 20.9 million cwt. of the
total processing, up 53
percent from last year.
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