EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan wheat growers anticipate better yields in 2021 than they had last year. Michigan producers expect to harvest 520,000 acres, up 70,000 acres from last year. Wheat production in the State is expected to be 42.6 million bushels. The yield forecast of 82 bushels, if realized, would be 7 bushels above last year.
U.S winter wheat production is forecast at 1.28 billion bushels, up 10 percent from 2020. As of May 1, the United States yield is forecast at 52.1 bushels per acre, up 1.2 bushels from last year’s average yield of 50.9 bushels per acre.
Hay stocks on Michigan farms on May 1, 2021 were 190,000 tons, down 14 percent from this time last year.
All hay stored on United States farms as of May 1, 2021 totaled 18.0 million tons, down 12 percent from May 1, 2020. Disappearance from December 1, 2020 – May 1, 2021 totaled 66.0 million tons, up 3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
March Agricultural Prices
Prices received by Michigan farmers for the full month of March 2021 are listed in the table below. Some Michigan highlights were: March corn, at $4.97 per bushel, increased $0.08 from February and increased $1.24 from last year; March soybeans, at $13.20, decreased $0.20 from last month but increased $4.30 from last year. March wheat, at $6.13 per bushel, decreased $0.05 from February but increased $0.47 from last year; March milk, at $16.40 per cwt., increased $0.50 from last month but decreased $0.20 from last year.
Nationally, the March Prices Received Index 2011 Base (Agricultural Production), at 98.3, increased 2.6 percent from February and 6.4 percent from March 2020. At 99.3, the Crop Production Index is up 1.2 percent from last month and 14 percent from the previous year. The Livestock Production Index, at 97.4, increased 4.1 percent from February, and 0.2 percent from March last year. Producers received higher prices during March for hogs, market eggs, soybeans, and lettuce but lower prices for strawberries, oranges, cotton, and celery. In addition to prices, the volume change of commodities marketed also influences the indexes. In March, there was increased monthly movement for strawberries, cattle, milk, and calves and decreased marketing of cotton, apples, soybeans, and greenhouse & nursery.
April Potato Stocks
Potato Stocks in Michigan on Apr 1, 2021, were estimated at 3.3 million hundredweight (cwt), down 15 percent from last year’s 3.9 million cwt. April’s stocks represent 18 percent of the total production. Stocks include potatoes stored by both
processors and growers.
Potato States held 133 million cwt in storage on April 1, 2021, up 5 percent from April 1, 2020. Potatoes in storage accounted for 32 percent of the States’ 2020 production compared with 30 percent a year earlier. The indicated potato disappearance, at 281 million cwt, was down 5 percent from the same period last year. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 20.0 million cwt, was 8 percent higher than the same time last year. Processors in the 8 States used 146 million cwt of potatoes for the season, down 6 percent from April 2020.
Meat Animals Cash Receipts
Michigan cattle and calves cash receipts totaled $500.7 million in 2020, down 6 percent from 2019. Cattle and calf marketings totaled 508.1 million pounds, down 1 percent from 2019.
Michigan hog cash receipts totaled $349.9 million in 2020, down 3 percent from 2019. All hog and pig marketings totaled 721.5 million pounds, up 2 percent from 2019.
Nationally, cash receipts from marketings of cattle and calves decreased 5 percent, from $66.3 billion in 2019 to $63.1 billion in 2020. All cattle and calf marketings totaled 59.0 billion pounds in 2020, up 1 percent from 2019.
Nationally, cash receipts from hogs and pigs totaled $19.2 billion during 2020, down 12 percent from 2019. Marketings totaled 41.9 billion pounds in 2020, down 3 percent from 2019.
March Milk Production
Dairy herds in Michigan produced 1.034 billion pounds of milk during March, up 3.5 percent from a year ago. Production per cow in Michigan averaged 2,340 pounds for March, 5 pounds above March 2020. The dairy herd was estimated at 442,000 head for March, up 14,000 head from a year earlier. The average price of milk sold in March by Michigan dairy producers was $16.40 per cwt., $0.20 less than the price in March 2020.
Chickens and Eggs
All layers in Michigan totaled 15.1 million during March, up 4 percent from a year ago. Egg production totaled 390 million eggs, up 7 percent from last year. The rate of lay during March was 2,591 eggs per 100 layers. All layers in the U.S. totaled 393.1 million during March, down 1 percent from a year ago. There were 22.0 million turkey poults hatched in the U.S. in March, down 7 percent from the previous year.
Michigan Fruit Production 2020
Michigan remains the third largest apple producer in the United States. Michigan apple production, at 927 million pounds, was down 13 percent from the 2019 crop. The farm level value of utilized production was $270.2 million.
Michigan tart cherry production was 69.3 million pounds, down 59 percent from 2019. The farm level value of utilized production was $32.7 million. Michigan was the largest tart cherry producing State. The 2020 marketing year average price of $0.473 per pound was up $0.33 from 2019. Blueberry production in Michigan was 73.8 million pounds. Michigan growers harvested 17,200 acres in 2020. The farm level value of utilized production was $75.4 million.
— USDA NASS Great Lakes Region
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