ARIZONA 

Arizona harvested 75,300 acres of lettuce in 2018, down less than 1 percent from the 75,800 acres harvested in 2017, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Of that, 38,600 acres was head lettuce, 9,800 acres were leaf lettuce, and 26,900 acres were Romaine lettuce. The state produced 23,195 hundredweight (cwt) of lettuce in 2018, with a value of utilized onion production of $891.5 million in 2018, down from $1.218 billion in 2017. 

COLORADO 

Colorado harvested 2,600 acres of onions in 2018, down 28 percent from 3,600 acres harvested in 2017, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The state produced 1.17 million hundredweight (cwt) of onions in 2018, a decrease of 29 percent from the 1.66 million cwt produced in 2017. The value of utilized onion production decreased to $27.26 million in 2018, from $39.41 million in 2017. 

NEW MEXICO 

New Mexico harvested 7,900 acres of chile peppers in 2018, up 4 percent from 7,600 acres harvested in 2017, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The state produced 1.42 million hundredweight (cwt) of chile peppers in 2018, an increase of 13 percent from the 1.25 million cwt produced in 2017. The value of utilized onion production increased to $53.77 million in 2018, from $44.55 million in 2017.

UNITED STATES 

In 2018, the Nation’s production for the 26 estimated vegetable and melon crops totaled 753 million cwt, 1 percent below the final 754 million cwt estimated in 2017. The utilized production totaled 747 million cwt, 1 percent below 2017. Area harvested in 2018 was 2.50 million acres, a 3 percent reduction from the previous year. In 2018, 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, sweet corn, and onions, which combined accounted for 56 percent of the all vegetables total. 

The value of utilized production for 2018 vegetable crops was $12.9 billion, down 12 percent from the previous year. Tomatoes, head lettuce, and romaine lettuce claimed the highest values, accounting for 31 percent of the total value of production when combined. For the 26 selected vegetables and melons estimated in 2018, California continued to be the leading State in terms of area harvested, utilized production, and value of production.