Annual Colorado Crop Summary – 2014 Highlights

The 2014 corn for grain crop was estimated at 147.46 million bushels, 15 percent above last year’s production of 128.38 million bushels, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The average yield of 146.0 bushels per acre was 15.0 bushels per acre above the yield realized last year. Area harvested for grain in 2014, at 1.01 million acres, was 30,000 acres above last year. Acreage cut for corn silage was estimated at 110,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from last year, with production estimated at 2.75 million tons, compared with 2.30 million tons produced last year.

Sorghum for grain production was estimated at 8.40 million bushels, up 46 percent from the previous year. Average yield was estimated at 30.0 bushels per acre, up 6.0 bushels per acre from last year. Producers harvested 280,000 acres for grain, up 40,000 acres from last year’s area harvested. Acreage cut for sorghum silage was estimated at 10,000 acres, down 20,000 acres from last year, with production estimated at 110,000 tons compared with 390,000 tons produced last year.

Oat seedings in Colorado totaled 45,000 acres, down 10,000 acres from last year. Producers harvested 9,000 acres for grain or seed, down 3,000 acres from 2013. Oat production totaled 540,000 bushels in 2014, down 31 percent from last year. Oat yield is 60.0 bushels per acre in 2014, down 5.0 bushels per acre from the previous year.

Colorado’s barley seeded area, at 57,000 acres, is down 6,000 acres from last year. Harvested area, at 54,000 acres, is down 4,000 acres from 2013. Barley yield, at 124.0 bushels per acre, is down 9.0 bushels per acre from last year. Barley production in 2014 is estimated at 6.70 million bushels, down 13 percent from the previous year.

All wheat production in Colorado, estimated at 89.8 million bushels, is up 116 percent from 2013. All wheat yield was 38.1 bushels per acre, up 12.8 bushels per acre from a year ago. Winter wheat producers seeded 2.75 million acres in the fall of 2013 for harvest in 2014, up from 2.30 million acres seeded for the previous year’s crop. Acreage harvested for grain increased 720,000 acres to 2.35 million acres in 2014. Winter wheat production is estimated at 89.3 million bushels, up 119 percent from last year. Winter wheat yield, at 38.0 bushels per acre, is up 13.0 bushels per acre from last year. Spring wheat seedings, at 9,000 acres, are down 1,000 acres from last year. Acreage harvested totaled 8,000 acres, down from 9,000 acres harvested last year. Spring wheat production is estimated at 512,000 bushels, down 31 percent from last year. Spring wheat yield, at 64.0 bushels per acre, is down 18.0 bushels per acre from last year.

Proso millet production in the state was estimated at 8.13 million bushels, down from 8.25 million bushels produced last year. Farmers harvested 250,000 acres of proso millet, down 80,000 acres from the previous year. Yield increased 7.5 bushels per acre from last year to 32.5 bushels per acre.

All hay production for 2014 is estimated at 3.57 million tons, up 21 percent from the 2013 total. Alfalfa hay production was estimated at 2.52 million tons from 740,000 acres harvested, up 631,000 tons from 2013. Average yield for the 2014 crop was 3.40 tons per acre, 0.50 ton per acre above last year. All other hay production totaled 1.05 million tons from 600,000 acres harvested, down 6,000 tons from 2013. The average yield of 1.75 tons per acre was 0.15 ton per acre above last year. New seedings of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures in Colorado were estimated at 95,000 acres, up 12 percent from 2013.

As of December 1, producers in Colorado were storing 1.80 million tons of all hay, up 29 percent from the 1.40 million tons stored last year.

All sunflower production was estimated at 63.3 million pounds from 42,000 acres harvested. Yield was estimated at 1,507 pounds per acre, up from the 860 pounds attained last year. Production of oil varieties increased 56 percent from the previous year to 46.2 million pounds and production of non-oil varieties increased 7 percent to 17.1 million pounds.

The state’s sugarbeet crop of 917,000 tons for 2014 was up 7 percent from the 861,000 tons produced in 2013. Producers harvested 29,100 acres in 2014, up from 25,700 acres in 2013. Average yield was estimated at 31.5 tons per acre, 2.0 tons per acre below 2013.

Colorado potato growers produced 23.7 million hundredweight of potatoes this year, up 17 percent from last year’s crop. Average yield, at 397 hundredweight per acre, was up 25 hundredweight per acre from last year’s yield. Harvested area of 59,800 acres this year was 5,200 acres more than last year’s harvested area.

Dry edible bean production was set at 835,000 hundredweight, 55 percent above the 2013 crop of 540,000 hundredweight. Average yield was estimated at 1,900 pounds per acre, 400 pounds above last year. Harvested area, at 44,000 acres, was 8,000 acres more than last year.

Winter wheat seedings last fall for the 2015 crop year are estimated at 2.50 million acres, down 9 percent from last year.