This time of year is an important time for row crops in South Carolina, so we are checking in with Commissioner Weathers about how things are looking.
Yes, Mike. Things are moving right along.
As of late September:
- Corn was mostly harvested
- Peanut digging and harvesting had begun
- Nearly all tobacco was harvested
Corn saw some damage from Hurricane Idalia but not as much as we feared. Tobacco took damage too but the harvest was pretty much over.
In mid-September, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released its September Crop Production report.
Across the board, NASS dropped planted acreage for corn, cotton, peanuts, and soybeans in SC. Here are some of those numbers:
CORN
- Corn acreage is revised down from the previous estimate to 375,000 acres planted and 355,000 acres harvested for grain.
- Based on conditions as of September 1, yields are expected to average 142 bushels per acre. If realized, this would be a new state record yield per acre.
- Production is forecast at 50.4 million bushels, up 38 percent from 2022.
COTTON:
- Cotton acreage is revised down from the previous estimate to 210,000 acres planted with production forecast at 330,000 bales, down 15 percent from last month and down 35 percent from last year.
PEANUTS:
- Peanut acreage is revised down from the previous estimate to 76,000 planted acres.
- Peanut production is forecast at 292 million pounds, up 2 percent from 2022.
SOYBEANS:
- Soybeans had a 30,000 acre drop from our previous forecast.