To Growers: I hope you can find the time to help us make the most accurate "Agriculture Counts" by returning your survey form as soon as possible or answering our questions over the telephone or if someone comes to visit.

 

Become a crop weather reporter

 

If you are knowledgeable about crops across your county and have Internet access, you qualify to be a weekly crop reporter. It only takes about 10-15 minutes each week to alert USDA of the crop situation in your county using the Internet report form. We will use that information to generate the weekly report of Crop Conditions across the Northeastern Region.

 

This report is issued weekly during the growing season, April to November, and lists planting, fruiting, and harvesting progress and overall condition of selected crops in major producing states.

 

You can help alert USDA about crop progress and unusual crop conditions during the growing seasons. Instead of waiting until the crop is in, you can give us an early warning of crop situations that may need our attention for possible assistance.

 

To learn more, visit our website and click on the "Help Wanted" button found here: 

 

Delaware

The annual production of milk for Delaware during 2022 was 48.1 million pounds, 8 percent below 2021. Production per cow in Delaware averaged 17,815 pounds for 2022, 482 pounds above 2021. The average number of milk cows on farms in Delaware during 2022 was 2,700 head, down 300 head from the previous year.

 

Maryland

The annual production of milk for Maryland during 2022 was 842 million pounds, down 4 percent from 2021. Production per cow in Maryland averaged 20,537 pounds for 2022, down 320 pounds from the previous year. The average number of milk cows on farms in Maryland during 2022 was 41 thousand head, down 1,000 head from the previous year.

 

New England

Milk production in the New England States decreased 1 percent in 2022 to 3.96 billion pounds. Production decreased in all the New England States (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) from 2021.

 

New Jersey

The annual production of milk for New Jersey during 2022 was 87 million pounds, 3 percent below 2021. Production per cow in New Jersey averaged 21,750 pounds for 2022, down 750 pounds from the previous year. The average number of milk cows on farms in New Jersey during 2022 was 4,000 head, unchanged from 2021.

 

New York

The annual production of milk for New York during 2022 was 15.7 billion pounds, up 1 percent from 2021. Production per cow in New York averaged 25,096 pounds per cow for 2022, up 311 pounds from the previous year. The average number of milk cows on farms in New York during 2022 was 624 thousand head, down 3 thousand head from 2021.

 

Pennsylvania

The annual production of milk for Pennsylvania during 2022 was 9.95 billion pounds, down 2 percent from 2021. Production per cow in Pennsylvania averaged 21,259 pounds for 2022, down 79 pounds from the previous year. The average number of milk cows on farms in Pennsylvania during 2022 was 468 thousand head, down 6 thousand head from 2021.

 

Northeast region farms and land in farms

This report was released on Feb. 17. A farm is "any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year." Government payments are included in sales. Ranches, institutional farms, experimental and research farms, and Indian Reservations are

included as farms. Places with the entire acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Wetlands Reserve Programs (WRP), and other government conservation programs are counted as farms.

 

The definition of a farm was first established in 1850 and has changed nine times since. The current definition was first used for the 1974 Census.

 

In 2020, we have implemented a statistical modeling approach to generate survey indications. This approach was in response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on data collection processes and the suspension of in-person data collection. We have been doing everything possible to keep all parties involved safe and slow the spread of the virus while continuing to produce critical data about American agriculture.

 

New England

The number of farms, total land in farms and average size all stayed consistent in the New England States from 2021 to 2022.

 

 

The number of farms in New Jersey for 2022 is estimated at 9,900 farms, unchanged from 2021. Total land in farms, at 750 thousand acres, was the same as the previous year. The average farm size for 2022 is 76 acres, also the same as 2021.

 

The number of farms in New York for 2022 is estimated at 33,400 farms, unchanged from 2021. Total land in farms, at 6.90 million acres, was also the same as last year. The average farm size for 2022 is 207 acres, also unchanged from the previous year.

 

The number of farms in Pennsylvania for 2022 is estimated at 52,700 farms, the same as the previous year. Total land in farms, at 7.30 million acres, was also unchanged from 2021. The average farm size for 2022 is 139 acres, the same as last year.

 

We are pleased to present the New England Vegetable Report for crops produced in 2022. This report is available here.

 

The Northeast Regional Field Office collects, analyzes, and estimates vegetable prices and yields at the request of USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). Funding was provided by the state departments of agriculture in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. This data series provides a valuable tool for growers to use in making production and marketing decisions and for FSA to administer farm programs based on State yield and price data. It is also used by cooperative extension to provide outreach and education, as well as for the state departments of agriculture to assist growers.

 

Over 1,500 vegetable producer responses were tabulated for this publication. Producers in the six state region were asked to provide acreage, production, and price information for vegetable crops.

 

This publication compiles New England vegetable data from 2018 through 2022 into one report. Since total acreage data are not available for most vegetable crops, data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture are also included. Published prices and yields do not distinguish between organically and conventionally grown products.

 

The success of this project is credited to the cooperation of growers across New England. We sincerely appreciate their time and effort in supplying crop information.

 

Northeast region vegetable summary

In 2022, the nation's production for the 26 estimated vegetable and melon crops totaled 658 million cwt (hundredweight), down 2 percent from 2021. The utilized production totaled 655 million cwt, down 2 percent from 2021. Area harvested in 2022 was 2.14 million acres, down 5 percent from 2021.

 

The top three vegetables, in terms of area harvested, were sweet corn, tomatoes, and snap beans. In terms of total production, the three largest crops were tomatoes, onions, and sweet corn, which combined accounted for 53 percent of all vegetables total. The full report was released on Feb. 15 and can be found here.