The 2017 corn for grain crop is estimated at 185.90 million bushels, 16 percent above last year’s production of 160.29 million bushels, according to the December 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The average yield of 143.0 bushels per acre is 6.0 bushels per acre above the yield realized last year. Area harvested for grain in 2017, at 1.30 million acres, is 130,000 acres above last year. Acreage cut for corn silage is estimated at 130,000 acres, down 10,000 acres from last year, with production estimated at 3.32 million tons, compared with 3.36 million tons produced last year. 

Sorghum for grain production is estimated at 20.52 million bushels, down 1 percent from the previous year. Average yield is estimated at 57.0 bushels per acre, up 7.0 bushels per acre from last year. Producers harvested 360,000 acres for grain, down 55,000 acres from last year’s area harvested. Acreage cut for sorghum silage is estimated at 25,000 acres, up 15,000 acres from last year, with production estimated at 375,000 tons compared with 90,000 tons produced last year. 

Oat seedings in Colorado totaled 50,000 acres, down 5,000 acres from last year. Producers harvested 9,000 acres for grain or seed, down 1,000 acres from 2016. Oat production totaled 585,000 bushels in 2017, down 27 percent from last year. Oat yield is 65.0 bushels per acre in 2017, down 15.0 bushels per acre from the previous year. 

Colorado’s barley seeded area, at 70,000 acres, is down 10,000 acres from last year. Harvested area, at 68,000 acres, is down 7,000 acres from 2016. Barley yield, at 132.0 bushels per acre, is up 3.0 bushels per acre from last year. Barley production in 2017 is estimated at 8.98 million bushels, down 7 percent from the previous year. 

All wheat production in Colorado, estimated at 87.60 million bushels, is down 17 percent from 2016. All wheat yield is 43.2 bushels per acre, down 5.0 bushels per acre from a year ago. Winter wheat producers seeded 2.25 million acres in the fall of 2016 for harvest in 2017, down from 2.35 million acres seeded for the previous year’s crop. Acreage harvested for grain decreased 170,000 acres from last year to 2.02 million acres in 2017. Winter wheat production is estimated at 86.86 million bushels, down 17 percent from last year. Winter wheat yield, at 43.0 bushels per acre, is down 5.0 bushels per acre from last year. Spring wheat seedings, at 10,000 acres, are down 1,000 acres from last year. Acreage harvested totaled 9,000 acres, down from 10,000 acres harvested last year. Spring wheat production is estimated at 738,000 bushels, down 16 percent from last year. Spring wheat yield, at 82.0 bushels per acre, is down 6.0 bushels per acre from last year. 

Proso millet production in the state is estimated at 11.17 million bushels, up from 7.84 million bushels produced last year. Farmers harvested 290,000 acres of proso millet, up 5,000 acres from the previous year. Yield increased 11.0 bushels per acre from last year to 38.5 bushels per acre. 

All hay production for 2017 is estimated at 4.10 million tons, up 15 percent from the 2016 total. Alfalfa hay production is estimated at 2.81 million tons from 720,000 acres harvested, up 428,000 tons from 2016. Average yield for the 2017 crop is 3.90 tons per acre, 0.40 ton per acre above last year. All other hay production totaled 1.30 million tons from 720,000 acres harvested, up 106,000 tons from 2016. The average yield of 1.80 tons per acre is 0.10 ton per acre above last year. New seedings of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures in Colorado are estimated at 70,000 acres, unchanged from 2016. 

As of December 1, producers in Colorado were storing 1.75 million tons of all hay, up 6 percent from the 1.65 million tons stored last year. 

All sunflower production is estimated at 90.52 million pounds from 85,000 acres harvested. Yield is estimated at 1,065 pounds per acre, down from the 1,293 pounds attained last year. Production of oil varieties increased 11 percent from the previous year to 76.22 million pounds and production of non-oil varieties decreased 35 percent from the previous year to 14.30 million pounds. 

The state’s sugarbeet crop of 1.04 million tons for 2017 is up 12 percent from the 927,000 tons produced in 2016. Producers harvested 29,000 acres in 2017, up from 27,600 acres in 2016. Average yield is estimated at 35.7 tons per acre, 2.1 tons per acre above 2016. 

Colorado potato growers produced an estimated 21.53 million hundredweight of potatoes this year, down 3 percent from last year’s crop. Fall potatoes produced in the San Luis Valley totaled 19.39 million hundredweight compared with 19.83 million hundredweight produced last year. Fall potatoes grown in all other areas in Colorado totaled 2.14 million hundredweight compared with 2.41 million hundredweight last year. Average yield, at 382 hundredweight per acre, decreased 7 hundredweight per acre from the combined yield attained last year. The harvested area, estimated at 56,400 acres is down from the 57,100 acres harvested last year. 

Dry edible bean production is set at 1.09 million hundredweight, 47 percent above the 2016 crop of 742,000 hundredweight. Average yield is estimated at 2,000 pounds per acre, 250 pounds per acre above last year. Harvested area, at 54,500 acres, is 12,000 acres more than last year. 

Winter wheat seedings last fall for the 2018 crop year are estimated at 2.15 million acres, down 4 percent from last year. 

UNITED STATES HIGHLIGHTS 

Corn for grain production in 2017 was estimated at 14.6 billion bushels, down 4 percent from the 2016 estimate. The average yield in the United States was estimated at a record high 176.6 bushels per acre, 2.0 bushels above the 2016 average yield of 174.6 bushels per acre. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 82.7 million acres, down 5 percent from the 2016 estimate. Corn silage production was estimated at 128 million tons for 2017, up 2 percent from 2016. The United States silage yield was estimated at 19.9 tons per acre, down 0.4 ton from 2016. Area harvested for silage was estimated at 6.43 million acres, up 4 percent from a year ago. 

Sorghum grain production in 2017 is estimated at 364 million bushels, down 24 percent from the 2016 total. Planted area for 2016 is estimated at 5.63 million acres, down 16 percent from the previous year. Area harvested for grain, at 5.05 million acres, is down 18 percent from 2016. Grain yield is estimated at 72.1 bushels per acre, down 5.8 bushels from 2016. Sorghum silage production was estimated at 3.77 million tons, down 10 percent from 2016. Area harvested for silage was estimated at 284,000 acres, down 5 percent from the previous year. Silage yield averaged 13.3 tons per acre, down 0.7 ton per acre from 2016. 

Oat production in 2017 was estimated at 49.4 million bushels, down 24 percent from 2016. Yield was estimated at 61.7 bushels per acre, down 4.3 bushels from the previous year. Harvested area, at 801,000 acres, was 18 percent below the previous year. 

Barley production was estimated at 142 million bushels, down 29 percent from the 2016 total of 200 million bushels. Average yield per acre, at 72.6 bushels, was down 5.3 bushels from the previous year. Producers seeded 2.48 million acres in 2017, down 19 percent from 2016, and the lowest acreage planted on record since estimates began in 1866. Harvested area, at 1.95 million acres, was down 24 percent from 2016. 

All wheat production totaled 1.74 billion bushels in 2017, down 25 percent from the 2016 total of 2.31 billion bushels. Area harvested for grain totaled 37.6 million acres, down 14 percent from the previous year. The United States yield was estimated at 46.3 bushels per acre, down 6.4 bushels from the previous year. The levels of production and changes from 2016 by type are winter wheat, 1.27 billion bushels, down 24 percent; other spring wheat, 416 million bushels, down 22 percent; and Durum wheat, 54.9 million bushels, down 47 percent. Winter wheat production for 2017 totaled 1.27 billion bushels, down 24 percent from the 2016 total of 1.67 billion bushels. The United States yield, at 50.2 bushels per acre, was down 5.1 bushels from 2016. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 25.3 million acres, down 16 percent from the previous year. Other spring wheat production for 2017 was estimated at 416 million bushels, down 22 percent from the 2016 total of 532 million bushels. Harvested area totaled 10.2 million acres, down 10 percent from 2016. The United States yield was estimated at 41.0 bushels per acre, 6.3 bushels below 2016. 

Production of proso millet in 2017 totaled 14.6 million bushels, compared with the 12.6 million bushels produced in 2016. Area planted to proso millet in the United States was estimated at 478,000 acres, up 35,000 acres from 2016. Area harvested in the United States, at 404,000 acres, was down 9,000 acres from 2016. The average yield for 2017 was estimated at 36.1 bushels per acre, up 5.7 bushels from 2016 and represented the highest yield on record. 

Production of all dry hay for 2017 was estimated at 131 million tons, down 3 percent from the revised 2016 total. Area harvested was estimated at 53.8 million acres, up one percent from 2016. The average yield, at 2.44 tons per acre, was down 0.08 ton from the previous year. Production of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures in 2017 was estimated at 55.1 million tons, down 5 percent from the 2016 total. Harvested area, at 16.6 million acres, was 2 percent below the previous year. Average yield was estimated at 3.32 tons per acre, down 0.13 ton from 2016. Production of all other hay in 2017 totaled 76.4 million tons, down less than 1 percent from the revised 2016 total. Harvested area, at 37.2 million acres, was up 2 percent from the previous year. Average yield was estimated at 2.05 tons per acre, down 0.05 ton from the previous year’s revised record high. Growers seeded 2.21 million acres of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures during 2017, down 3 percent from 2016. 

All hay stored on United States farms as of December 1, 2017 totaled 86.2 million tons, down 10 percent from the previous December. Disappearance from May 1, 2017 - December 1, 2017 totaled 69.6 million tons, compared with 64.3 million tons for the same period a year earlier. 

The 2017 sunflower production totaled 2.17 billion pounds, down 18 percent from 2016. The United States average yield per acre of 1,613 pounds decreased 118 pounds from 2016. However, the average yield was still the third highest on record. Planted area, at 1.40 million acres, was 12 percent below the previous year. Area harvested decreased 12 percent from 2016 to 1.34 million acres. United States production of oil-type sunflower varieties, at 1.86 billion pounds, decreased 22 percent from 2016. Compared with the previous year, harvested acres were down 14 percent and the average yield decreased by 146 pounds to 1,585 pounds per acre. Production of non-oil sunflower varieties was estimated at 312 million pounds, an increase of 10 percent from 2016. Area harvested, at 172,700 acres, was up 6 percent from 2016, but was the second lowest since 1983. The average yield increased by 75 pounds from 2016 to 1,804 pounds per acre and represented the second highest yield on record for non-oil varieties. 

Sugarbeet production for 2017 was estimated at 35.3 million tons, down 4 percent from the previous year’s revised production. Growers in the 11 major sugarbeet-producing States planted 1.13 million acres, down 3 percent from the 2016 revised area. Harvested area, at 1.11 million acres, was down 1 percent from the previous year. Estimated yield, at 31.7 tons per acre, was down 1.1 tons from last year. 

Production of fall potatoes for 2017 was estimated at 400 million cwt, down 2 percent from the previous year. Area harvested, at 902,300 acres, was down 1 percent from 2016. The average yield was estimated at 443 cwt per acre, down 4 cwt from the previous year’s record high yield. 

United States dry edible bean production was estimated at 35.8 million cwt for 2017, up 25 percent from the previous year. Planted area was estimated at 2.09 million acres, up 26 percent from 2016 and the highest since 1990. Harvested area was estimated at 2.01 million acres, 29 percent above the previous year. The average United States yield was 1,781 pounds per acre, a decrease of 61 pounds from 2016. 

Winter wheat seeded area for 2018 is expected to total 32.6 million acres, down less than 1 percent from 2017. Approximate class acreage breakdowns are: Hard Red Winter, 23.1 million; Soft Red Winter, 5.98 million; and White Winter, 3.56 million.