2003 Missouri Crop Summary

Fieldwork had begun throughout the State by the first week of April. Periodic rainfall caused some delay during the month but by the end of April over 70 percent of the ground intended for spring crops had been worked at least once and 60 percent of the corn had been planted, both slightly ahead of the 5-year average. Rainfall in both April and May averaged above normal but distribution was uneven. Several southeastern counties received from 6 to 10 inches of rain in early May, most of which occurred early in the month, while many northern counties received only minimal amounts. Corn planting was virtually completed by June 1 and soybeans were 65 percent planted, both slightly ahead of average, but cotton was over a week behind average at 93 percent planted.

Late row crop planting was completed in June. Crops made good growth as rainfall was sufficient in most areas to maintain a favorable outlook. Wheat harvesting began around mid-month and quickly spread over the State. Exceptional wheat yield averages in all areas were soon apparent. Serious moisture shortages were developing by early July in the northwest, west-central and central districts of the State and crop condition began to decline as the month progressed. July rainfall averaged 2.5 inches, well below average, as many western and northern counties received only minimal amounts. August continued hot and dry in most areas until the end of the month when heavy rains came, mostly too late for crops to recover from drought damage.

Cool weather in early September slowed the maturing process of row crops but corn was close to the normal schedule with over 80 percent mature by mid-month while soybeans were a few days behind schedule and cotton was 2 weeks late. Corn harvesting proceeded at a normal pace through the fall season, reaching 93 percent complete by November 1. Soybeans harvesting was 5 days behind average at 75 percent harvested and cotton was 67 percent harvested, a week late. Grain and bean harvesting reached completion in November but cotton harvesting continued into early December.

Soybeans: Production in 2003 totaled 146 million bushels, down 14 percent from the 2002 crop, and 22 percent below the 2001 production. Farmers in Missouri harvested 4.94 million of the 5.00 million acres planted in the State. Missouri yields averaged 29.5 bushels per acre, 4.5 bushels below the 2002 yield. Nationally, Missouri ranks fifth in harvested acres and seventh in production. The State production is valued at $1.1 billion, 17 percent more than the 2002 crop.

Corn: Production in 2003 totaled 302 million bushels, 7 percent above a year earlier but 13 percent below the 2001 production. Yields for the State averaged 108 bushels per acre, up 3 bushels from 2002. Out of 2.9 million planted acres, corn for grain was produced from 2.8 million acres and silage was cut on 80,000 acres. The total value of grain production was estimated at $756 million, 9 percent above the 2002 crop value. Silage yields averaged 10.5 tons per acre, 2.5 tons less than a year earlier. Silage production totaled 840,000 tons, down 8 percent from 2002.

Winter Wheat: Production of 53.1 million bushels in 2003 was up 59 percent from the previous year. Of the 960,000 planted acres, 870,000 were harvested, 14 percent more than 2002. Missouri yields averaged a record 61 bushels per acre, up 17 bushels from 2002. Value of the crop is estimated at $162 million, up 56 percent above last year.

Sorghum: Production totaled 16.2 million bushels, virtually the same as in 2002. Of the 215,000 acres planted, 210,000 were harvested for grain, 11 percent more than a year earlier. Average yield for the State was 77 bushels per acre, 8 bushels below the 2002 yield. Grain production was valued at $39.4 million, 6 percent more than the 2002 crop. Sorghum silage yields averaged 8 tons per acre, down from 9 tons a year earlier.

Cotton: Production is estimated at 700,000 bales, 15 percent above the 2002 level. The State yield is estimated at a record high 862 pounds compared with 796 pounds a year ago. Missouri farmers harvested 390,000 of the 400,000 acres planted. Value of the lint is estimated at $208 million, 61 percent above the previous crop value. Cottonseed production totaled 274,000 tons, a 26 percent increase from a year earlier, while value of cottonseed was up 65 percent to $34.3 million.

Rice: Production in 2003 totaled 10.5 million cwt, down 5 percent from a year earlier. The record yield of 6,130 pounds is 80 pounds above the previous record of 2002. Farmers harvested 171,000 of the 175,000 planted acres. Value of the crop is estimated at $68.1 million, 59 percent above the 2002 crop value.

Tobacco: Production in 2003 totaled 2.83 million pounds, 9 percent less than in 2002. The State yield of 2,020 pounds is down from 2,230 pounds a year ago. Farmers harvested 1,400 acres of tobacco, unchanged from the low level of the previous 3 years. The crop is valued at $5.49 million, 8 percent below the 2002 value.

Potatoes: Commercial potato production in 2003 totaled 1.88 million cwt, 45 percent above the 2002 production. The 7,100 acres harvested produced a yield of 265 cwt, up 25 cwt from the 2002 yield. The value of the crop is estimated at $10.8 million, 28 percent above a year ago.

Oats: Production of 1.21 million bushels amounted to a 32 percent decline from 2002. Farmers harvested 18,000 acres for grain from the 30,000 acres planted. State oat yields averaged a record 67 bushels, up 16 bushels from 2002. Value of production is estimated at $1.99 million, 40 percent less than the 2002 crop.

Hay: Production of all hay in 2003 totaled a record 8.17 million tons, 4 percent above the level of the past 2 years. Missouri hay yields averaged 1.92 tons per acre, compared with 1.84 tons in 2002. Alfalfa hay acres totaled 450,000, up 13 percent from 2002. Alfalfa yields averaged 2.95 tons, 0.05 ton below a year ago, while production was up 11 percent at 1.33 million tons. Acres of other hay were down 1 percent from 2002 to 3.8 million. Yields of other hay averaged 1.80 tons, down 0.05 from the previous year, while production was down 4 percent to 6.84 million tons.