Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021 - 12

created flash floods and gusty winds causing
damage across southeastern Florida. As Autumn
ended, November was the fourth warmest
and 33rd driest in the past 126-year period.
The information sources for this section were:
National Agricultural Statistics Service, ISSN:
1057-7823, Crop Production 2020 Summary,
January2021; https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/k3569432s/
w3764081j/5712n018r/cropan21.pdf
and
Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletins, USDA,
WAOB; https://usda.library.cornell.edu/
concern/publications/cj82k728n
Crop Production Summary
Despite the turbulent weather events of the
past year outlined above, the overall weather
conditions farmers experienced throughout the
growing season were substantially improved
from those that lead to widespread decline
in crop production in 2019. Unlike that year,
which saw record prevented plantings among
major crops of around 19.6 million acres, 2020
had just under nine million acres of prevented
planting. Among the seven major crops monitored,
only barley, winter wheat, and cotton
posted declines in production output over the
previous year (Table 1).
Coarse Grains and
Soybeans
The combination of increased corn yields, up
2.4 percent in 2019, and an increase of just over
one million acres resulted in an increase in production
of 3.6 percent, to 14.182 billion bushels.
A decline in barley production resulted from a
reduction in acreage, with planted acres down
four percent from 2019 while yields remained
virtually unchanged. In contrast, an increase in
sorghum production was linked to an increase
in planted acres in 2020, up 12 percent from
last year's record low level of 5.27 million acres
to 5.88 million acres, combined with modestly
higher yields. Soybean production rebounded
from the previous crop year decline with both
acreage and yield returning closer to 2018 levels.
Harvested soybean acreage increased 10 percent,
to 82.3 million acres, with yields reaching
50.2 bushels per acre, an increase of 2.8 bushels
per acre in 2020. The combination of better
yields and increased acres resulted a 16.4 percent
increase in soybean production, to 4.1 billion
bushels in 2020.
Wheat
Wheat production declined by about five
percent in 2020, from 1.920 to 1.825 billion
bushels. Overall production declines were
linked to yield declines of almost four percent
from the previous year combined with a reduction
of two million harvested acres, to 36.7 million
acres. There was an overall decline in winter
wheat production in hard red winter wheat,
which is the primary winter wheat, accounting
for 56 percent of total production. Production
of hard red winter wheat was down 22 percent
from 2019 due to lower yields and reduced
acreage in major growing states. Cold and dry
conditions during planting season in large portions
of western Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and
Colorado contributed to the yield fall in 2020.
Other winter wheat crops experienced increased
production. Soft red winter, the second largest
production class, was up 11 percent from 2019
to 266 million bushels. White winter wheat, the
third largest production class, increased by six
percent to reach 246 million bushels.
Other wheat varieties had a better 2020.
Spring wheat production increased by four percent
from the previous year to 585 million bushels.
A modest increase in hard red spring, the
largest class, accounted for 530 million bushels.
This, combined with an increase in spring soft
white of 45 million bushels, up almost 28 percent,
more than offset the decline in hard white
12 SECONDQUARTER2021

https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/k3569432s//w3764081j/5712n018r/cropan21.pdf https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/k3569432s//w3764081j/5712n018r/cropan21.pdf https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/k3569432s//w3764081j/5712n018r/cropan21.pdf https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/cj82k728n https://usda.library.cornell.edu/concern/publications/cj82k728n

Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2021

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