If you are knowledgeable about crops and have Internet access, you qualify to be a weekly crop reporter. It only takes about 10-15 minutes each week to alert USDA of the crop situation in the county using the Internet report form. That information will be used to generate the weekly report of Crop Conditions across the Northeastern Region.
This report is issued weekly during the growing season, April to November, and lists planting, fruiting, and harvesting progress and overall condition of selected crops in major producing states.
You can help alert USDA about crop progress and unusual crop conditions during the growing seasons. Instead of waiting until the crop is in, you can give us an early warning of crop situations that may need our attention for possible assistance.
To learn more, visit the following website and click on the “Help Wanted” button: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Pennsylvania/Publications/Crop_Progress_and_Condition/index.php
NORTHEAST REGION ANNUAL MILK PRODUCTION
Milk production in the New England States decreased 2% in 2021 to 4.01 billion pounds. Production decreased in all the New England States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) from 2020.
NORTHEAST REGION FARMS AND LAND IN FARMS
This report was released on February 18. A farm is “any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year.” Government payments are included in sales. Ranches, institutional farms, experimental and research farms, and Indian Reservations are included as farms. Places with the entire acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Programs (WRP), and other government conservation programs are counted as farms.
The definition of a farm was first established in 1850 and has changed nine times since. The current definition was first used for the 1974 Census.
In 2020, a statistical modeling approach was implemented to generate survey indications. This approach was in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on data collection processes and the suspension of in-person data collection. We have been doing everything possible to keep all parties involved safe and slow the spread of the virus while continuing to produce critical data about American agriculture.
New England
The number of farms, total land in farms and average size all stayed consistent in the New England States from 2020 to 2021.
The number of farms in Connecticut for 2021 is estimated at 5,500 farms; total land in farms, at 380 thousand acres; and average farm size at 69 acres.
The number of farms in Maine is estimated at 7,600 farms; total land in farms, at 1.30 million acres; and average farm size is 171 acres.
The number of farms in Massachusetts is estimated at 7,200 farms; total land in farms, at 500 thousand acres; and average farm size at 69 acres.
The number of farms in New Hampshire is estimated at 4,100 farms; total land in farms, at 430 thousand acres; and average farm size is 105 acres.
The number of farms in Rhode Island is estimated at 1,100 farms; total land in farms, at 60 thousand acres; and average farm size at 55 acres.
The number of farms in Vermont is estimated at 6,800 farms; total land in farms, at 1.20 million acres; and average farm size at 176 acres.
NEW ENGLAND VEGETABLE REPORT RELEASED
The New England Vegetable Report for crops produced in 2021 report is available at:
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_England_includes/Publications/Current_News_Release/2022/Feb2022-New-England-Vegetable-Report.pdf
The Northeast Regional Field Office collects, analyzes, and estimates vegetable prices and yields at the request of USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). Funding was provided by the State Departments of Agriculture in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This data series provides a valuable tool for growers to use in making production and marketing decisions and for FSA to administer farm programs based on State yield and price data. It is also used by Cooperative Extension to provide outreach and education, as well as for the State Departments of Agriculture to assist growers.
Over 2,000 vegetable producer responses were tabulated for the publication. Producers in the six State region were asked to provide acreage, production, and price information for vegetable crops.
This publication compiles New England vegetable data from 2017 through 2021 into one report. Since total acreage data are not available for most vegetable crops, data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture are also included. Published prices and yields do not distinguish between organically and conventionally grown products.
The success of this project is credited to the cooperation of growers across New England.
NORTHEAST REGION VEGETABLE SUMMARY
In 2021, the Nation’s production for the 26 estimated vegetable and melon crops totaled 679 million cwt, down 4% from 2020. The utilized production totaled 675 million cwt, down 4% from 2020. Area harvested in 2021 was 2.27 million acres, down slightly from 2020. The top three vegetables, in terms of area harvested, were sweet corn, tomatoes, and snap beans. In terms of total production, the three largest crops were tomatoes, onions, and sweet corn, which combined accounted for 53% of the all vegetables total.
The full report was released on February 16, and can be found at https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/02870v86p.
