COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

As of March 1, Colorado growers intend to plant 1.65 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2020, up 100,000 acres, or 6 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 410,000 acres, up 45,000 acres from last year. Growers intend to plant a record low 45,000 acres of barley in 2020, down 9,000 acres from last year's actual plantings.

Winter wheat seeded last fall for harvest in 2020 is estimated at 1.85 million acres, down 300,000 acres from the 2019 crop. Hay producers in the State intend to harvest 1.43 million acres this year. This is down 30,000 acres from the acreage cut for hay in 2019. Growers intend to plant 63,000 acres of sunflowers this year, up 4,000 acres from what they planted in 2019. The acreage of oil varieties is expected to total 43,000 acres, down 4,000 acres from last year's plantings. The area for non-oil varieties is expected to be up 8,000 acres to 20,000 acres this year.

The area planted to sugarbeets is expected to be up 100 acres from last year's actual plantings to 25,200 acres. Dry edible bean acreage is expected to total 45,000 acres, up 22 percent from the 37,000 acres planted in 2019. As of March 1, mountain snowpack was 111 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 2020 is estimated at 97.0 million acres, up 8 percent or 7.29 million acres from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 38 of the 48 estimating States.

Growers intend to plant 5.82 million acres of sorghum for all purposes in 2020, up 11 percent from last year.

Producers seeded 2.92 million acres of barley for the 2020 crop year, up 7 percent from the previous year.

All wheat planted area for 2020 is estimated at 44.7 million acres, down 1 percent from 2019. This represents the lowest all wheat planted area since records began in 1919. The 2020 winter wheat planted area, at 30.8 million acres, is down 1 percent from last year and down slightly from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 21.7 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 5.69 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.42 million acres are White Winter. Area expected to be planted to other spring wheat for 2020 is estimated at 12.6 million acres, down 1 percent from 2019. Of this total, about 11.9 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for

2020 is expected to total 1.29 million acres, down 4 percent from the previous year.

Producers intend to harvest 53.3 million acres of all hay in 2020, up 2 percent from 2019.

Growers intend to plant 1.56 million acres of all sunflowers in 2020, an increase of 15 percent from 2019. Area intended for oil type varieties, at 1.36 million acres, is up 13 percent from 2019. Area intended for non-oil varieties, at 202,000 acres, is up 32 percent from last year.

Area expected to be planted to sugarbeets for the 2020 crop year is estimated at 1.14 million acres, up 1 percent from 2019.

Growers intend to plant 1.37 million acres of dry edible beans in 2020, up 7 percent from the previous season’s 1.29 million acres.