COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

As of March 1, Colorado growers intend to plant 1.43 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2019, down 40,000 acres, or 3 percent from last year's plantings, according to the March 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Sorghum planting intentions total 375,000 acres, up 20,000 acres from last year.

Growers intend to plant 57,000 acres of barley in 2019, down 1,000 acres from last year's actual plantings.

Winter wheat seeded last fall for harvest in 2019 is estimated at 2.30 million acres, up 50,000 acres from the 2018 crop.

Hay producers in the State intend to harvest 1.40 million acres this year. This is down 20,000 acres from the acreage cut for hay in 2018.

Growers intend to plant 55,000 acres of sunflowers this year, down 11,000 acres from what they planted in 2018. The acreage of oil varieties is expected to total 50,000 acres, down 8,000 acres from last year's plantings. The area for non-oil varieties is expected to be down 3,000 acres to 5,000 acres this year.

The area planted to sugarbeets is expected to be up 200 acres from last year's actual plantings to 26,500 acres.

Dry edible bean acreage is expected to total 40,000 acres, down 5 percent from the 42,000 acres planted in 2018.

As of March 1, mountain snowpack was 112 percent of average, statewide. Final acreages actually planted for several crops will be determined by irrigation water prospects, soil moisture levels at planting time, and changes in economic conditions between now and actual planting.

UNITED STATES HIGHLIGHTS

Corn planted area for all purposes in 2019 is estimated at 92.8 million acres, up 4 percent or 3.66 million acres from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 34 of the 48 estimating States.

Growers intend to plant 5.14 million acres of sorghum for all purposes in 2019, down 10 percent from last year. Area planted to sorghum in the United States will be the lowest planted acreage on record, if realized.

Producers intend to seed 2.55 million acres of barley for the 2019 crop year, up slightly from the previous year.

All wheat planted area for 2019 is estimated at 45.8 million acres, down 4 percent from 2018. This represents the lowest all wheat planted area on record since records began in 1919. The 2019 winter wheat planted area, at 31.5 million acres, is down 3 percent from last year but up 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 22.4 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 5.55 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.55 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2019 is estimated at 12.8 million acres, down 3 percent from 2018. Of this total, about 12.4 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2019 is estimated at 1.42 million acres, down 31 percent from the previous year.

Producers intend to harvest 53.1 million acres of all hay in 2019, up less than 1 percent from 2018. If realized, this will represent the third lowest total hay harvested area since 1908, behind 2017 and 2018.

Growers intend to plant 1.35 million acres of sunflowers in 2019, up 4 percent from 2018. Despite the increase from last year, this will be the second lowest planted area for the Nation since 1976, if realized. Area intended for oil type varieties, at 1.20 million acres, is up 3 percent from 2018, but will be the third lowest on record since 1976, if realized. Area intended for non-oil varieties, estimated at 150,000 acres, is up 9 percent from last year but will be the second lowest on record, if realized.

Area expected to be planted to sugarbeets for the 2019 crop year is estimated at 1.12 million acres, up 1 percent from 2018. Intended plantings are above the previous year in 7 of the 11 estimating States. Intended plantings to dry beans in 2019 is expected to be 1.24 million acres, up 1 percent from the previous season’s 1.22 million acres of dry beans, excluding chickpeas, for comparability.