COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

Colorado principal crop planted acreage, which includes acres planted to all major crops and those expected to be cut for all hay, is down 2 percent from 2019 to 5.94 million acres, according to the June 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Colorado corn producers planted 1.60 million acres of corn this year of which they intend to harvest 1.30 million acres for grain, unchanged from the acres harvested in 2019. This is a 3 percent increase in planted acreage for all purposes. Sorghum plantings, at 410,000 acres, are up 12 percent from the previous year and acreage expected to be harvested for grain, at 330,000 acres, increased 6 percent from 2019.

Barley planted area, at 67,000 acres, is 24 percent more than last year’s acreage. Expected harvested acres, at 63,000 acres, are 21 percent above 2019.

Winter wheat producers planted 1.90 million acres in the fall of 2019 for harvest in 2020, down from 2.15 million acres planted for the previous year’s crop. Acreage expected to be harvested for grain is down 450,000 acres from last year to 1.55 million acres. Proso millet seedings are expected to total 370,000 acres this year, up 9 percent from 2019.

The area to be harvested for hay is expected to decrease 50,000 acres from a year ago to 1.41 million acres. Alfalfa hay harvested acreage is expected to decrease 20,000 acres from last year to 710,000 acres and all other hay harvested acreage is expected to decrease 30,000 acres to 700,000 acres. All sunflower planted area, at 53,000 acres, is 6,000 acres below last year. Oil type varieties totaled 33,000 acres, down 14,000 acres from 2019 while non-oil type varieties are set at 20,000 acres, up 8,000 acres from last year. Harvested acres are expected to total 30,000 acres for oil type and 18,000 acres for non-oil.

Sugarbeet plantings decreased 600 acres from last year to 24,500 acres. The expected harvested area, at 24,000 acres, is 400 acres below last year. Acres planted to dry beans, at 53,000 acres, are up 43 percent from last year. Harvested acres are expected to total 49,000 acres. Potatoes planted in Colorado are estimated at 54,000 acres, a 5 percent increase from the 51,300 acres planted last year, with 53,800 acres expected to be harvested, up 5 percent from last year.

UNITED STATES HIGHLIGHTS

Corn planted area for all purposes in 2020 is estimated at 92.0 million acres, up 3 percent or 2.31 million acres from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 28 of the 48 estimating States. Area harvested for grain, at 84.0 million acres, is up 3 percent from last year.

Growers planted 5.62 million acres of sorghum for all purposes in 2020, up 7 percent from last year. Kansas and Texas, the leading sorghum-producing States, account for 79 percent of the United States acreage. Growers expect to harvest 4.85 million acres for grain, up 4 percent from last year.

Producers seeded 2.80 million acres of barley for the 2020 crop year, up 3 percent from the previous year. Harvested area, forecast at 2.23 million acres, is up 2 percent from 2019.

All wheat planted area for 2020 is estimated at 44.3 million acres, down 2 percent from 2019. This represents the lowest all wheat planted area since records began in 1919. The 2020 winter wheat planted area, at 30.6 million acres, is down 2 percent from last year and down 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 21.5 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 5.63 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 12.2 million acres, down 4 percent from 2019. Of this total, about 11.5 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2020 is expected to total 1.50 million acres, up 12 percent from the previous year.

Area planted to proso millet in 2020 is estimated at 511,000 acres, up 5,000 acres from 2019.

Producers intend to harvest 52.4 million acres of all hay in 2020, down slightly from 2019. If realized, this will represent the lowest total hay harvested area since 1908.

Area planted to sunflower in 2020 totals 1.54 million acres, up 14 percent from 2019. Despite the increase from last year, this is the fifth lowest planted area for the Nation since 1976. Compared with last year, growers in six of the eight major sunflower-producing States increased sunflower acreage this year. Harvested area for sunflower is forecast at 1.47 million acres, an increase of 18 percent from last year. Planted area of oil type varieties, at 1.37 million acres, is up 15 percent from 2019. Area planted to non-oil varieties, estimated at 170,500 acres, is up 11 percent from last year but is the fourth lowest on record.

Area planted to sugarbeets for the 2020 crop year is estimated at 1.15 million acres, up 1 percent from 2019. Harvested area is forecast at 1.13 million acres, up 15 percent from last year.

Area planted for dry beans in 2020 is estimated at 1.59 million acres, up 23 percent from last year. Area harvested is forecast to total 1.53 million acres, up 30 percent from last year. Eight out of nine estimating States show an increase in total dry bean planted acres compared to last year.

Area planted to potatoes in 2020 is estimated at 921,000 acres, down 5 percent from 2019. Harvested area is forecast at 910,300 acres, down 3 percent from the previous year.