Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2022 - 9

Coarse Grains and Soybeans
A minor increase in area, just over two percent,
combined with a record yield of 177 bushels
per acre, up three percent from the previous year,
resulted in a 6.6 percent increase in corn production
in 2021 of 15.1 billion bushels. Favorable
prices relative to competing crops resulted in a
surge in grain sorghum production in 2021. A
decline of around six percent in yields were more
than offset by a 24 percent increase in planted
area, which resulted in production of 448 million
bushels, 20 percent above the 2020 total. Soybeans
continued to attract farmers who increased
planted acres by around five percent from 2020 to
87.2 million acres. Combined with slightly higher
yields, soybean production reached 4.4 billion
bushels, up over seven percent from 2020 commensurate
with the increase in acreage.
Wheat
In total, production of all wheat in the United
States was down almost 10 percent, 1.65 billion
bushels, from the 2020 total of 1.83 billion bushels.
The decline in all wheat production numbers
mask the influence of changes in production by
wheat class. Significantly difficult conditions in
the other spring and Durum wheat production
areas weighed down all wheat production in 2021.
Winter wheat production registered an increase
in production of just over nine percent
above the previous year. Larger planted area, 33.6
million acres, up 10 percent from the previous
year, overcame a slight decline in yields to boost
winter wheat production to 1.28 billion bushels,
up from 1.17 billion bushels in 2020. Acres devoted
to winter wheat increased by 11 percent
in 2021 to 33.6 million acres, from 30.5 in 2020.
Among winter wheat, Hard Red Winter production
increased by 14 percent from the previous
year reaching 749 million bushels. Soſt Red Winter
fared even better with production increasing
to 361 million bushels, up 35 percent from 2020.
However, White Winter production fell by 34
percent from 2020 for a total of 167 million bushels
primarily resulting from lower yields because
of challenging drought conditions in the Pacific
Northwest. The recent five-year average production
was 217 million bushels.
Other Spring Wheat production suffered
its worst season since 1988 as severe drought
resulted in yield declines of 16 percent, to 32.6
bushels per acre off from record yields in 2020 of
48.6 bushels per acre. Combined with a decline
in harvested acres the total production of Other
Spring Wheat was down to 331 million bushels,
almost 44 percent from the 2020 total of 585 million
bushels. The fate of the Durum Wheat season
was even worse. Primarily grown in North Dakota
and Montana, Durum is the smallest in size of
the three major wheat classifications, accounting
for two to five percent of U.S. wheat production.
In 2021, Durum wheat production fell by almost
46 percent, linked to a small reduction in acreage
and a drought related collapse in yields. Durum
Wheat yields fell to 24.3 bushels per acre, down
over 17 bushels per acre (41 percent) from the
2020 yield of 41.4 bushels per acre.
Upland Cotton
A slight increase in average yield, combined
with a substantial increase in harvested
acres, resulted in production of Upland cotton
in the United States of almost 17.3 million
480-pound bales in 2021, up almost 20
percent from the previous year. While regional
production varied considerably across the
Cotton Belt, generally favorable conditions
allowed harvested acres to increase by 22 percent
from the previous year with an overall
abandonment rate of 11 percent in 2021 versus
32 percent in 2020. The Southwest region
produces almost 50 percent of U.S. Upland
cotton with nearly 90 percent grown in Texas.
In the Southwest, timely rains contributed
to a successful dry-land crop, reducing abandonment
from over 49 percent last year to 17
percent in 2021 boosting total regional production
by more than 50 percent. In contrast
the Upland crop in the West was the lowest in
80 years, just 477,000 bales, as drought conditions
and other cropping alternatives continued
to erode cotton planted area, down 8,000
acres in California in 2021 following a 20,000
acre decline in 2020. A similar trend was observed
in New Mexico; however, improved
yields and a modest increase in planted acres
resulted in a slight increase in production of
320,000 bales in 2021, up six percent from the
previous year.
In the Delta, cotton production was down
about four percent from the previous year, at
3.9 million bales, but similar to the 10-year
average. The decline in production was moderated
by record yields, 1,187 pounds per harvested
acre which offset the decline in planted
acres to 1.6 million, the smallest since 2016.
In the Southeast, the season was similar to
the Delta with 2021 cotton production of 4.5
million bales, up 15 percent from 2020 but
near the average production for the region
from 2016-20. As with the Delta higher yields
more than offset lower planted area. Cotton
area in 2021 was at its lowest in five years,
with harvested area estimated about 2.3 million
acres. However, the Southeast yield was
933 pounds per harvested acre in 2021, the
second highest on record behind 2012 with
1,033 pounds.
Rice
Rice production in 2021 was down in all
states across all types except for a slight increase
in Missouri. In 2021 all rice production
totaled about 192 million cwt, down almost
16 percent from 2020. Planted areas for 2021
was estimated at 2.53 million acres, down 17
percent from 2020 and area harvested, at 2.49
million acres, was down 17 percent from the
previous crop year. The decline in rice production
in 2021 was mitigated somewhat by
a record yield of 7,709 pounds per acre, up
modestly from the previous year's yield of
7,619 pounds per acre.
In the South, long-grain production was
hampered by excessive spring rainfall that
prevented or delayed planting, along with
higher prices for competing crops attracting
acres away from rice. In Mississippi for example,
harvested area was down 39 percent from
last year, the smallest area harvested since the
1973/74 season. In contrast, California's harvested
area declined to its lowest level since
1992/93 at 405,000 acres, 21 percent below the
previous year as severe drought and related low
water supplies continued to plague the state.
Dry Beans and Lentils
Drought conditions in major production regions
resulted in reduced yields and quality issues
for the 2021 crop of dry edible beans. Production
total was 22.7 million cwt., down 30 percent from
the previous year's 32.7 million cwt. crop. Production
declines were partially attributable to a decline
in planted acres, falling to 1.39 million, down 19
percent from 2020. In addition, a decline in average
yield, 1,701 pounds per acre in 2021, 13 percent
below the previous year also contributed to the fall
in production of dry edible beans in 2021. In addition
to reducing the level of production there were
reports of some cracking in dry beans that resulted
in their use in animal feed rather than the more lucrative
commercial market. In contrast, the upper
peninsula of Michigan reported a banner season
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9
Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2022

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