United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Sp Cr 10 (03) Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts 2001 Summary February 2003 Table of Contents Page Introduction 2 Highlights 3-4 Charts 5-7 Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts, U.S., 2001 8-9 Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 10 Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 11 Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 12 Identity-Preserved Corn, U.S., 2001 13 Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts, U.S., 2001 14-15 Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 16 Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 17 Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 18 Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts, U.S., 2001 19-20 Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 21 Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 22 Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 23 Farm Production Region Map 24 Survey Procedures and Reliability 25- 27 Data collection survey instrument 28-29 Introduction Amid growing interest regarding changes in the structure of the Nation's grain and oilseed markets, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is issuing this special report titled Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts. All information contained within this report is based on the 2001 Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS), covering 2001 production. This is the first time NASS has issued a report on the characteristics of contract production. The 2001 ARMS contained questions on both marketing and production contract arrangements, as farms can have both types. However, virtually all of the reported contracts for corn, soybeans, or wheat were marketing contracts, thus limiting this report to marketing contracts. The following information is provided to understand differences between the two types of contracts. Marketing contracts refer to verbal or written agreements between the farmer (contractee) and the buyer (contractor) generally a processing and/or marketing company that set a price (or pricing mechanism) and determine an outlet for a specified quantity of a commodity. Most management decisions remain with the farmer, who retains ownership during the production cycle. The farmer assumes all risks of production, but shares price risk with the contractor. Marketing contracts can take many forms, including: forward sales of a growing crop, where the contract provides for later delivery and establishes a price before delivery; price setting after delivery based on a formula that considers grade and yield; and pre-harvest pooling arrangements, in which the amount of payment received is determined by the net pool receipts for the quantity sold. Production contracts involve paying the farmer a fee for providing management, labor, facilities, and equipment, while assigning ownership of the product to the contractor. The contract specifies in detail the production input supplied by the contractor, which may be a processor, feed mill, or another operation or business. The contract also specifies the quality and quantity of the particular commodity. Because the contractor controls the amount produced and the production practices, the contractor often dominates the terms of the contract. Advantages of production contracts for farmers include the sharing of production and marketing risks with the contractor and the availability of financing either directly from the contractor or indirectly through other lenders who are more assured of loan repayment under this arrangement. Highlights According to the most recent survey information, 62,300 U.S. farms utilized more than 82,100 corn, soybean or wheat marketing contracts during 2001. This information comes from the Agricultural Resource Management Study, conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) in late Winter and Spring, 2002. The number of contracts by crop shows over 44,700 farms with corn contracts, almost 27,700 farms with soybean contracts, and almost 9,700 farms with wheat contracts. For the 2001 crop year, 10.4 percent of the total U.S. corn production, 8.6 percent of the soybeans, and 4.8 percent of the wheat was sold through marketing contracts. When corn and soybeans are combined, 10.0 percent of their total production was sold through marketing contracts. This compares to an earlier report from USDA's Economic Research Service showing 11.0 percent of the combined 1999 corn and soybean crops sold through marketing contracts. Wheat contracts totaled 6.0 percent of the 1999 crop production. The weighted average price received by farmers for contracted corn was $2.14 per bushel, compared to the NASS Market Year Average price (MYA) of $1.97 for the 2001 crop. The weighted average price for contracted soybeans was $4.63 per bushel, compared to the MYA of $4.38, while wheat had a contract price of $2.98, compared to the MYA of $2.78 per bushel. Corn farms which sold identity-preserved varieties received $2.19 per bushel, and reported receiving an average 24 cents premium above Number 2 Yellow corn. The average contract-specified premium, above Number 2 Yellow corn, was 22 cents. Cooperatives and elevators, combined, were by far the primary contractor group. Respectively, 69, 64, and 71 percent of contracts for corn, soybeans and wheat were held by cooperatives or elevators. The contractor group representing processors, seed companies, and feed mills handled contracts for another 20, 30, and 18 percent of corn, soybeans, and wheat, respectively. Some interesting observations appear when comparing contract terms across the three crops. While 16 and 18 percent of the corn and soybean contracts, respectively, carried confidentiality clauses, only 8 percent of the wheat contracts did so. The percent of farms with 2 or more contracts was roughly the same for corn and soybeans, at 12 and 14 percent, while the percent of wheat farms with 2 or more contracts was only 7 percent. The number of contracts with no specified length was roughly the same for all three crops, ranging from 15 to 19 percent of all contracts. The percent of corn contracts with penalty clauses for reduced production was 23 percent, compared to 15 and 13 percent, respectively, for soybeans and wheat. When comparing the delivery of contract production off the farm, some additional differences show up. Although the percent of contracts delivered off the farm is comparable between crops, ranging between 79 and 85 percent, the distances traveled for contract delivery versus non-contract delivery are significantly different. The mean miles for contract production delivered off the farm is almost twice the distance of available, non-contract delivery for corn and soybeans, and more than twice the distance for wheat. 1 Based on the 1999 Agricultural Resource Management Study as released by the Economic Research Service in their website "Farm Briefing Room - Questions and Answers." Highlights (continued) For regions with sufficient information to publish, the percent of total production under contract was greatest in the Lake States for corn and soybeans, at 11.4 and 13.0 percent, respectively, while the Mountain States region had the highest percentage of wheat production under contract with 9.7 percent. The Mountain States region also had the highest average contract price for wheat, at $3.26 per bushel, while the Corn Belt region was highest for corn at $2.16 per bushel, and the Lake States held the highest price for soybeans under contract, at $5.03 per bushel. Across the three crops, partnerships held the highest percentage of multiple contracts, with over 20 percent of partnerships holding 2 or more contracts for corn and soybeans. Across most domains (geographic, type of farm, or size of farm), the contractor group representing processors, seed dealers, and feed companies held a greater percentage of contract soybean production than the other two crops. The percentages ranged from a low of 18.0 percent of production for partnerships to 38.9 percent in the Corn Belt region. Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Corn for Grain 1/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac : 68,808 Total Production : 1,000 Bu : 9,506,840 Marketing year average price 2/ : Dollars/Bu : 1.97 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 44,735 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu : 988,833 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 2,116,832 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 2.14 : : Total contract production 3/ : Percent : 10.4 : : Farms with specified number : : of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 87.7 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 12.3 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 69.4 : : Seed, feed, processor, or : : other input company : Percent : 19.7 : : All other contractors : Percent : 10.9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 (con.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Contracts with confidentiality clauses : Percent : 16.2 : : : : Contracts with specified lengths: : : : : No specified contract length : Percent : 16.2 1 - 6 months : Percent : 48.2 7 or more months : Percent : 35.6 : : : : Contracts that penalize producers : : for reduced production due to : : adverse weather : Percent : 23.2 : : : : Contracts that specified points of : : delivery off the operation : Percent : 85.2 : : Number of miles to contract : : delivery: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 55.5 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 23.4 31 or more miles : Percent : 21.2 : : Mean miles : Number : 21 Median miles : Number : 10 : : Number of miles to nearest open : : market buyer: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 67.0 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 27.4 31 or more miles : Percent : 5.6 : : Mean miles : Number : 12 Median miles : Number : 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 2/ The Crop Values 2002 Summary released in February 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Quantity marketed divided by total production. 4/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Unit : Corn : Lake : Northern :All Other : : Belt : States : Plains : Regions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Corn for Grain 2/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac: 33,690 10,700 14,905 9,513 Total Production : 1,000 Bu:4,981,380 1,335,700 1,978,275 1,211,485 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 26,932 7,416 7,045 3,342 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 502,606 173,964 155,379 156,884 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 :1,083,946 354,440 327,812 350,634 : : Average price per bushel: Dollars : 2.16 2.04 2.11 2.23 : : Total contract production : Percent : 10.1 13.0 7.9 13.0 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 86.0 90.8 86.0 97.8 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 14.0 9.2 14.0 2.2 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 69.6 80.8 79.8 45.7 : : Seed, feed, processor,: : or other input : : company : Percent : 22.4 13.1 11.4 26.5 : : All other contractors : Percent : 7.9 6.2 8.9 27.8 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 22 23 17 15 Median miles : Number : 10 15 10 12 : : Number of miles to nearest: : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 10 19 10 14 Median miles : Number : 10 10 10 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ See regional map on page 24. 2/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Partner- : Family :All Other Selected Characteristics : Units :Individual: ship : Corp : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 36,771 3,954 3,785 225 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 683,199 183,523 112,829 9,281 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 :1,452,422 397,070 245,967 21,374 : : Average price per bushel: Dollars : 2.13 2.16 2.18 2.30 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 89.8 75.8 81.8 48.3 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 10.2 24.2 18.2 51.7 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 68.8 67.9 73.5 91.8 : : Seed, feed, processor,: : or other input : : company : Percent : 20.5 23.1 10.1 8.2 : : All other contractors : Percent : 10.7 9.1 16.4 0.0 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 17 51 17 16 Median miles : Number : 10 40 22 15 : : Number of miles to nearest: : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 13 12 11 5 Median miles : Number : 10 12 12 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Corn Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :$250,000 :$100,000-:Less Than Selected Characteristics : Units :And Over :$249,999 :$100,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 18,744 14,289 11,701 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 734,275 162,144 92,414 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 :1,577,394 347,855 191,583 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 2.15 2.15 2.07 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 86.9 86.0 90.9 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 13.1 14.0 9.1 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 70.1 64.3 72.8 : : Seed, feed, processor, : : or other input : : company : Percent : 19.9 19.2 18.7 : : All other contractors : Percent : 10.0 16.5 8.5 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 18 27 18 Median miles : Number : 10 10 10 : : Number of miles to nearest : : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 12 12 13 Median miles : Number : 10 10 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Farms that Harvested Identity-Preserved types of Corn: United States, 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with Identity-preserved types of corn : Number : 3,942 : : Acres harvested : Acres : 1,096,106 : : Total production : Bushels : 167,593,718 : : Average prices received per bushel : Dollars : 2.19 : : : : Premium above the #2 yellow corn actually : : received per bushel : Cents : 24 : : : : Premium above the #2 yellow corn specified : : in the contract per bushel : Cents : 22 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Soybeans for Grain 1/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac : 72,975 Total Production : 1,000 Bu : 2,890,682 Marketing year average price 2/ : Dollars/Bu : 4.38 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 27,686 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu : 247,215 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 1,145,661 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 4.63 : : Total contract production 3/ : Percent : 8.6 : : Farms with specified number : : of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 86.0 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 14.0 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 63.5 : : Seed, feed, processor, or : : other input company : Percent : 29.5 : : All other contractors : Percent : 7.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 (con.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Contracts with confidentiality clauses : Percent : 17.9 : : : : Contracts with specified lengths: : : : : No specified contract length : Percent : 19.5 1 - 6 months : Percent : 49.0 7 or more months : Percent : 31.5 : : : : Contracts that penalize producers : : for reduced production due to : : adverse weather : Percent : 15.4 : : : : Contracts that specified points of : : delivery off the operation : Percent : 83.2 : : Number of miles to contract : : delivery: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 47.4 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 27.3 31 or more miles : Percent : 25.2 : : Mean miles : Number : 27 Median miles : Number : 15 : : Number of miles to nearest open : : market buyer: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 65.3 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 24.8 31 or more miles : Percent : 9.9 : : Mean miles : Number : 14 Median miles : Number : 10 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 2/ The Crop Values 2002 Summary released in February 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Quantity marketed divided by total production. 4/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Unit : Corn : Lake : All Other : : Belt : States : Regions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Soybeans for Grain 2/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac: 36,610 10,900 25,465 Total Production : 1,000 Bu: 1,606,270 388,390 896,022 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 16,133 4,863 6,690 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 144,241 44,239 58,735 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 644,211 222,610 278,840 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 4.47 5.03 4.75 : : Total contract production : Percent : 9.0 11.4 6.6 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 89.2 91.6 74.3 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 10.9 8.4 25.7 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 57.9 66.6 75.0 : : Seed, feed, processor, : : or other input : : company : Percent : 38.9 23.7 10.8 : : All other contractors : Percent : 3.2 9.7 14.2 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 27 29 25 Median miles : Number : 10 6 20 : : Number of miles to nearest : : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 10 19 18 Median miles : Number : 8 5 20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ See regional map on page 24. 2/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Soybeans Sold Through Mrktg Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Partner- : Family :All Other Selected Characteristics : Units :Individual: ship : Corp : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 22,572 2,450 2,565 100 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 170,164 49,041 25,326 2,684 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 772,893 235,567 124,959 12,243 : : Average price per bushel: Dollars : 4.54 4.80 4.93 4.56 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 86.1 79.8 92.2 50.2 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 13.9 20.2 7.8 49.8 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 60.0 78.8 60.2 38.5 : : Seed, feed, processor,: : or other input : : company : Percent : 32.0 18.0 31.8 61.5 : : All other contractors : Percent : 8.1 3.2 8.0 0.0 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 27 43 19 10 Median miles : Number : 15 15 15 10 : : Number of miles to nearest: : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 15 17 10 (D) Median miles : Number : 10 8 7 (D) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D/ Withheld to avoid disclosure. 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Soybeans Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :$250,000 :$100,000-:Less Than Selected Characteristics : Units :And Over :$249,999 :$100,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 11,004 7,500 9,182 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 162,464 44,011 40,740 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 764,793 200,894 179,974 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 4.71 4.56 4.42 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 89.5 92.4 76.5 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 10.5 7.7 23.5 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 64.1 68.4 56.0 : : Seed, feed, processor, : : or other input : : company : Percent : 30.5 21.1 34.5 : : All other contractors : Percent : 5.4 10.5 9.5 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 37 16 21 Median miles : Number : 15 8 20 : : Number of miles to nearest : : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 12 13 18 Median miles : Number : 8 10 12 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Wheat for Grain 1/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac : 48,633 Total Production : 1,000 Bu : 1,957,043 Marketing year average price 2/ : Dollars/Bu : 2.78 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 9,680 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu : 94,492 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 281,739 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 2.98 : : Total contract production 3/ : Percent : 4.8 : : Farms with specified number : : of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 92.6 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 7.4 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 70.5 : : Seed, feed, processor, or : : other input company : Percent : 18.2 : : All other contractors : Percent : 11.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts: 4/ United States, 2001 (con.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Units : All Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Contracts with confidentiality clauses : Percent : 8.0 : : : : Contracts with specified lengths: : : : : No specified contract length : Percent : 15.5 1 - 6 months : Percent : 46.1 7 or more months : Percent : 38.4 : : : : Contracts that penalize producers : : for reduced production due to : : adverse weather : Percent : 12.7 : : : : Contracts that specified points of : : delivery off the operation : Percent : 79.46 : : Number of miles to contract : : delivery: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 47.1 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 34.6 31 or more miles : Percent : 18.3 : : Mean miles : Number : 28 Median miles : Number : 12 : : Number of miles to nearest open : : market buyer: : : : : 0 - 10 miles : Percent : 62.1 11 - 30 miles : Percent : 29.4 31 or more miles : Percent : 8.6 : : Mean miles : Number : 13 Median miles : Number : 9 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 2/ The Crop Values 2002 Summary released in February 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Quantity marketed divided by total production. 4/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Farm Production Region, 2001 1/ 3/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selected Characteristics : Unit : Corn : Northern : Mountain :All Other : : Belt : Plains : : Regions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Wheat for Grain 2/ : : Area Harvested : 1,000 Ac: 2,778 20,924 8,062 16,869 Total Production : 1,000 Bu: 171,312 756,366 276,917 752,448 : : Farms with contracts : Number : 1,666 1,946 1,636 4,432 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 6,585 18,528 26,878 42,501 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 16,793 54,863 87,597 122,486 : : Average price per bushel: Dollars : 2.55 2.96 3.26 2.88 : : Total contract production : Percent : 3.8 2.4 9.7 5.6 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 100.0 99.5 59.0 99.1 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 0.0 0.5 41.0 0.9 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 64.1 68.4 74.2 70.2 : : Seed, feed, processor,: : or other input : : company : Percent : 19.2 12.4 9.5 26.0 : : All other contractors : Percent : 16.7 19.1 16.4 3.8 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 8 13 56 24 Median miles : Number : 7 12 14 7 : : Number of miles to nearest: : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 6 9 21 13 Median miles : Number : 3 6 14 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ See regional map on page 24. 2/ The 2002 Crop Production Annual Summary released in January 2003 is the source of data. 3/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Type of Organization of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : All Other Selected Characteristics : Units : Individual : Farms -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 7,109 2,571 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 51,473 43,019 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 149,509 132,230 : : Average price per bushel: Dollars : 2.90 3.07 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 96.6 81.3 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 3.4 18.7 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 61.3 81.6 : : Seed, feed, processor,: : or other input : : company : Percent : 24.0 11.2 : : All other contractors : Percent : 14.8 7.1 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 33 20 Median miles : Number : 10 14 : : Number of miles to nearest: : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 12 16 Median miles : Number : 6 14 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts by Economic Class of Farm, 2001 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : :$250,000 :$100,000-:Less Than Selected Characteristics : Units :And Over :$249,999 :$100,000 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : Farms with contracts : Number : 4,033 2,118 3,529 : : Quantity marketed : 1,000 Bu: 61,122 16,208 17,162 : : Total value marketed : $1,000 : 182,686 46,955 52,099 : : Average price per bushel : Dollars : 2.99 2.90 3.04 : : Farms with specified : : number of contracts: : : : : 1 contract : Percent : 91.9 95.5 91.6 : : 2 or more contracts : Percent : 8.1 4.5 8.4 : : Percent marketed by : : contractor: : : : : Co-op or elevator : Percent : 75.9 47.1 73.7 : : Seed, feed, processor, : : or other input : : company : Percent : 18.9 23.4 10.8 : : All other contractors : Percent : 5.3 29.6 15.5 : : Number of miles to : : contract delivery: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 44 15 19 Median miles : Number : 8 12 12 : : Number of miles to nearest : : open market buyer: : : : : Mean miles : Number : 17 17 10 Median miles : Number : 10 12 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Percent may not add due to rounding. Farm Production Regions Northeast CT, DE, ME, MD, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT. Lake States MI, MN, WI. Corn Belt IL, IN, IA, MO, OH. Northern Plains KS, NE, ND, SD. Appalachian KY, NC, TN, VA, WV. Southeast AL, FL, GA, SC. Delta States AR, LA, MS. Southern Plains OK, TX. Mountain AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY. Pacific CA, OR, WA. Survey Procedures and Reliability Survey Procedures: The contract data contained in this publication are the result of a sample survey of nearly 13,313 farms and ranches contacted in February through April 2002 in all States except Alaska and Hawaii. The Agricultural Resource Management Study (ARMS) covers the population of farms in the 48 contiguous States defined as "all establishments which sold or would normally have sold at least $1,000 of agricultural products during the previous year." These establishments are not only traditional agricultural operations such as grain farms and dairy operations, but also specialty farms such as orchards, nurseries, and those producing fish in captivity. The Agricultural Resource Management Study is a multiple frame survey which utilizes a list frame and a complementary area frame. The list frame typically represents the larger, more specialized operations contributing the greater portion of the data expansions. The area frame provides coverage for the smaller operations that are not available for sampling from the list. Since all of the operators on the list frame are also part of the area frame, rigorous procedures are followed to be certain that an operation is only included in the data expansions once. These multiple frame expansions are unbiased and provide more precise expansions than could be obtained by using the area frame alone. Special training occurs for field enumerators prior to the Agricultural Resource Management Study period to insure consistent and proper execution of survey procedures in farm determination, data collection, and editing of detailed expense and income data. All questionnaires are personally enumerated. Field and office staff review data using both manual and computer-based procedures. Questionnaires are reviewed for consistency, data relationships, and completeness. Past analysis has shown approximately half of the edits simply correct for data misplacement errors. In cases where respondents are unable or unwilling to report data for any item on the questionnaire, the field enumerators or survey statisticians can impute a value. For income, related debt/asset data, and a few expense items statisticians are allowed to enter a (-1) to indicate a missing value and an algorithm within the edit will compute and input the missing value based on similar size and type of operations. The computer generated imputation has not been implemented for all expenditure data because NASS analysis has shown there are significantly fewer missing data cells on expenses than on income. Missing values for expense items, where no data are reported, are edited to a positive value based on other reported values from similar operations by the survey statistician. Data Comparability: This publication includes mostly new and previously unpublished statistics for 2001 corn, soybeans and wheat sold through marketing contracts. The data are presented at the following levels or domains: National, by geographic region, Farm Production Region, Economic Sales Class, and type of farm organization. Efforts have been made to identify comparable statistics, but few exist at the National or domain levels published herein. Data Reliability: All data published in this report are survey indications expanded to represent U.S. and specified domain levels. No effort has been made to publish best estimates, largely because there is little or no recorded history on the data items, and a lack of any comparable, alternative information from other known sources. Survey Procedures and Reliability (continued) Two types of errors, sampling and nonsampling, are possible in an indication based on a sample survey. Both types affect the "precision" of the data. Sampling error occurs because a complete census is not taken. The sampling error measures the variation in statistics from the average of all possible samples. A statistic of 100 with a sampling error of 1 would mean that chances are 19 out of 20 that the statistics from all possible samples averaged together would be between 98 and 102, which is the survey estimate plus or minus two times the sampling error. The sampling error expressed as a percent of the estimate is called the relative sampling error, or coefficient of variation. Data from sample surveys are also influenced by non-sampling errors which are not always measurable or known. Non-sampling errors may be introduced by enumerators, respondents, questionnaire design, or field and office procedures. Efforts are made to minimize these errors and maintain survey accuracy through proper training of all individuals involved with the survey, detailed review and verification of data, and analysis of data for comparability and consistency. Relative sampling errors are provided for the major data items published in this report, with a range of values for each commodity representing the various domains within each major data item. For example: the number of farms with corn contracts at the U.S. level had a relative sampling error of 6.0 percent, while farms with corn contracts in the Lake States geographic region had a relative sampling error of 19.3 percent. For this report, relative sampling errors are listed on the next page. Released February 27, 2003, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat Sold Through Marketing Contracts" call Scott Cox at 202-720-6146, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact the USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). 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