| CHEYENNE Wyoming farmers planted fewer acres of grain
and row crops this year, and the smallest sugarbeet crop since
1984, the Wyoming Agricultural Statistics Service said Friday.
More than 1.7 million acres are in crop production,
including land expected to be cut for hay, according to an
annual June survey.
Farmers are expected to harvest 150,000 acres of winter
wheat for grain, the fewest acres since 1944, the service
said. Acreage for spring wheat and corn was down from last
year. Dry bean land was down 28 percent from last year to
26,000 acres, the lowest amount since 1983.
Farmers planted 49,000 acres of sugar beets, down 20
percent from last year. Acreage also is down nationally.
Acreage for oats increased to its highest level since 1987,
75,000 acres. Barley acres are down slightly, with about
90,000 acres expected to be harvested for grain.
Growers hoped to harvest more than 1.2 million acres of
hay, up 7 percent from last year, the service said. That
includes 630,000 acres of alfalfa, up 10,000 acres from last
year. |