 Cornell Commercial Vegetable Production |
Trends in the Vegetable Industry, 1992-1997 By Stephen Reiners, Associate Professor in Horticultural Sciences, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY The 1997 Census of Agriculture has lots of information that growers may find interesting. In addition, it includes statistics on crops that are not normally kept by our NYS Department of Agricultural Statistics (pumpkins, squash, peppers, etc.). Unfortunately, getting through the document can be frustrating and time consuming. I've sifted though some of the data, specifically as it relates to vegetable acreage and vegetable farms in New York and also compared our statistics with other states. New York Vegetable Production vs. Other States All states, with the exception of California saw the number of vegetable farms decrease, from a 1% drop in New York to a 25% decline in Florida and Texas (Table 1). The number of acres jumped by nearly 30,000 in New York since 1992, a 21% increase that equals or betters the % increase in California, Washington and Georgia. Why the increase? Much of it can be attributable to a large increase in processing vegetable acreage, which started in 1995. At that time, Seneca Foods began growing and packing for Green Giant. Also, Agrilink increased their operations. Since 1997, processing acreage has decreased about 10% (due to the closing of outdated plants) but there has been an increase of about the same size in fresh market acreage. Vegetable production in neighboring states has also declined. The four states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey saw vegetable acreage decrease by more than 22,000 acres. New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont) vary, with some having a slight increase in farms and acreage. Of course New York growers are competing with more than their neighboring states. Competition from Ontario and Quebec is severe for many crops. Vegetable production trends in New York Which crop is grown on the most farms? Sweet corn continues at number one, grown on more than 1500 farms in the state in 1997 (Table 2, below). Pumpkins overtook tomatoes for the number two spot. In fact, vine crops (pumpkins, squash, cucumbers and pickles) now take up three of the top ten positions. Table 2. Vegetable crops grown on the most farms in New York (1997 Census of Agriculture).
More than 40 vegetables are grown in New York ranging from the 1500 farms on 66,000 acres growing sweet corn to the five farms and 11acres with chicory (Table 3, below). Some crops have shown a significant increase in acreage since 1992. As discussed earlier, processing sweet corn, snap beans, and peas all increased. Fresh market crops showing a gain include eggplant, garlic, Chinese cabbage, and surprisingly, rhubarb. Green onions, cauliflower and spinach showed major declines in acreage. Not included in Table 3 are statistics for potatoes and dry beans, as these are not considered vegetables for the purpose of the Census. Table 4 shows that potato acreage declined but dry bean acreage increased more than making up for the decline in potatoes. Table 3. Changes in the number of farms growing specific vegetables and acreage in New York from 1992 and 1997 (1997 Census of Agriculture).
Table 4. Changes in the number of farms growing potatoes and dry beans and acreage in New York from 1992 and 1997 (1997 Census of Agriculture).
Value of Production Of course the number of farms and acreage only tells part of the story. The value of the crops is also important. Field corn for grain, for example, is grown on more than a million acres in the state yet the value is less than $200 per acre. Table 5 shows the average value per acre for major vegetable crops. Table 5. Crop values based on yields and prices averaged over a six year period (1997 Census of Agriculture and New York Agricultural Statistics).
Table 6. Crop values based on yields and prices averaged over a six year period and based on acreage in 1997 (1997 Census of Agriculture and New York Agricultural Statistics).
Cornell Commercial Vegetable Production Comments or questions? Contact: Anusuya Rangarajan |
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