Vg 1-1 (1-02) Vegetables National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 10, 2002, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Vegetables" call Biz Wallingsford at (202) 720-2157 or Debbie Flippin at (202) 720-3250, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Fresh Vegetable Harvested Acreage Down 6 Percent Spring Onion Planted Acreage Down 2 Percent Winter Strawberry Acreage Up 6 Percent The prospective area for harvest of 12 selected fresh market vegetables during the winter quarter is forecast at 179,700 acres. This is 6 percent below 2001 and 8 percent below 2000. Acreage decreases in broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, head lettuce, spinach and tomatoes more than offset acreage increases in snap beans, cabbage, celery, sweet corn, and bell peppers. Eggplant acreage remains unchanged. Area planted for spring onions, at 37,700 acres, is down 2 percent from 2001 and 9 percent below 2000. Arizona increased planted acreage while the remaining spring onion States decreased area planted for 2002. Florida's winter strawberry acreage is forecast at 6,900 acres, an increase of 6 percent over 2001 and 10 percent above 2000. Contents Page Information Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Fresh Market Vegetables Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Winter Season Fresh Market Vegetables Beans, Snap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Broccoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Cabbage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Carrots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Cauliflower. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Celery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Corn, Sweet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Eggplant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Lettuce, Head. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Peppers, Bell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Spinach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Strawberries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Tomatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Fresh Market Vegetable Comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Spring Onions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Onion Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Selected Fresh Market Vegetables: Area Harvested by Season and Crop, Major States, 2000-2001 and Forecasted Area 2002 (Domestic Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Area Crop :-------------------------------------------------------- and : Harvested : For Season :-------------------------------------: Harvest : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Acres : Snap Beans : 9,500 11,000 12,000 Broccoli 1/ : 33,000 31,000 22,000 Cabbage : 10,800 8,900 11,000 Carrots : 26,500 25,800 23,700 Cauliflower 1/ : 11,500 10,500 8,500 Celery 1/ : 7,500 7,700 7,900 Sweet Corn : 7,400 7,400 8,000 Eggplant : 600 500 500 Head Lettuce : 67,300 67,800 66,000 Bell Pepper 1/ : 4,800 4,400 5,600 Spinach : 2,600 2,100 2,000 Tomatoes : 13,900 14,000 12,500 : Total Winter Crop : 195,400 191,100 179,700 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. Selected Fresh Market Vegetables: Area Harvested by Season and Crop, Major States, 2000-2001 and Forecasted Area 2002 (Metric Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Area Crop :-------------------------------------------------------- and : Harvested : For Season :-------------------------------------: Harvest : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hectares : Snap Beans : 3,840 4,450 4,860 Broccoli 1/ : 13,350 12,550 8,900 Cabbage : 4,370 3,600 4,450 Carrots : 10,720 10,440 9,590 Cauliflower 1/ : 4,650 4,250 3,440 Celery 1/ : 3,040 3,120 3,200 Sweet Corn : 2,990 2,990 3,240 Eggplant : 240 200 200 Head Lettuce : 27,240 27,440 26,710 Bell Pepper 1/ : 1,940 1,780 2,270 Spinach : 1,050 850 810 Tomatoes : 5,630 5,670 5,060 : Total Winter Crop : 79,080 77,340 72,720 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. Selected Fresh Market Vegetables: Area Harvested by Crop, State, and Total, Winter Season, 2000-2001 and Forecasted Area 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Area : Crop : Usual :-----------------------------------: 2002 and : Harvest : Harvested : For : as Percent State : Period :-----------------------: Harvest : of 2001 : : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : ------------ Acres ----------- Percent : : Snap Beans : : FL : Jan-Mar : 9,500 11,000 12,000 109 : : Broccoli 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 33,000 31,000 22,000 71 : : Cabbage : : FL : Jan-Mar : 3,000 2,000 2,500 125 TX : Dec-Mar : 7,800 6,900 8,500 123 : : Total : : 10,800 8,900 11,000 124 : : Carrots : : CA : Jan-Mar : 23,000 23,000 21,500 93 TX : Dec-Mar : 3,500 2,800 2,200 79 : : Total : : 26,500 25,800 23,700 92 : : Cauliflower 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 11,500 10,500 8,500 81 : : Celery 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 7,500 7,700 7,900 103 : : Sweet Corn : : FL : Jan-Mar : 7,400 7,400 8,000 108 : : Eggplant : : FL : Jan-Mar : 600 500 500 100 : : Head Lettuce : : AZ - Western : Nov-Apr : 50,300 51,800 50,000 97 CA : Jan-Mar : 17,000 16,000 16,000 100 : : Total : : 67,300 67,800 66,000 97 : : Bell Pepper 1/ : : FL : Jan-Mar : 4,800 4,400 5,600 127 : : Spinach : : TX : Dec-Mar : 2,600 2,100 2,000 95 : : Tomatoes : : FL : Jan-Mar : 13,900 14,000 12,500 89 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. Onions and Strawberries for Fresh Market: Area Planted and Harvested by Crop, Season, and Total, 2000-2001 and Forecasted Area 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop, : Planted Area : Harvested Area Season, :--------------------------------------------------------------- and : : : : : : For Harvest State : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 : 2000 : 2001 : 2002 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Acres : Onions 1/ : Spring : AZ 2/ : 3,300 3,100 3,400 3,200 3,000 CA 2/ : 7,200 5,700 5,300 7,100 5,500 GA : 15,000 14,500 14,000 12,400 13,500 13,500 TX : 15,900 15,200 15,000 13,500 14,200 14,500 : Total 2/ : 41,400 38,500 37,700 36,200 36,200 : Strawberries 3/ : Winter : FL : 6,300 6,500 6,900 6,300 6,500 6,900 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Primarily fresh market. 2/ 2002 harvested acreage published April 5, 2002. 3/ Includes fresh market and processing. Snap Beans: Florida acreage for harvest is 12,000 acres, up 9 percent from last year and 26 percent above 2000. The snap bean crop is in good condition and harvesting is underway with good quality and volume. Broccoli: California acreage is forecast at 22,000 acres, 29 percent below 2001 and 33 percent below 2000. Weather conditions have been favorable for the crop, and yields are likely to increase as growers planted fewer acres and allocated the most fertile fields to vegetables. No major pests or disease problems are being encountered. Cabbage: Winter acreage for harvest is forecast at 11,000 acres, 24 percent above 2001 and 2 percent above 2000. Florida's harvest is active and the crop is in good condition. In Texas, the San Antonio-Winter Garden area showed good progress for cabbage harvest, although light showers have slowed harvest in some areas. East Texas continues to dry out from recent rains, so harvest has slowed. The High Plains continue to have favorable conditions for harvesting. Carrots: Winter harvested acreage is forecast at 23,700 acres, 8 percent below last year and 11 percent below two years ago. The California crop is reported in good condition. High demand for baby carrots continues. In Texas, harvest was slow for carrots in the Rio Grande Valley. Harvest is mainly on hold due to recent rains in east Texas. The High Plains continue to have favorable conditions for harvesting. Cauliflower: California acreage is forecast at 8,500 acres, down 19 percent from 2001 and 26 percent below 2000. Weather conditions have been favorable to winter cauliflower. No disease or pest problems have developed. Celery: The winter celery crop for harvest in California is forecast at 7,900 acres, 3 percent above last year and 5 percent above 2000. The celery crop in the Oxnard area is in fair condition. Because of the white fly problem encountered last fall, the outer leaves have been cut away reducing yield and crop size. Sweet Corn: Florida harvested acreage is forecast at 8,000 acres, 8 percent more than last year and the year before. Mostly mild conditions during November and December allowed planting around Homestead to progress normally. Planting was complete by mid-December. The Dade County and East Coast acreage escaped significant damage from colder weather that arrived in late December. Harvesting started in Dade County in late December. Eggplant: Acreage for winter harvest in Florida, at 500 acres, is unchanged from 2001 but 17 percent below 2000. Harvest is active. Crop quality is good. Head Lettuce: Acreage for harvest is forecast at 66,000, down 3 percent from last year and 2 percent below two years ago. Harvest of lettuce is underway in some areas. No major problems were reported, although some spraying for leafminers and worms was noted. Onions: Growers intend to plant 37,700 acres of spring onions for 2002, down 2 percent from 2001 and 9 percent below 2000. In California, planting began in October under favorable conditions. Onion fields have shown robust growth in many areas in response to recent rains and good growing conditions. Georgia reports a very dry and warm fall which discouraged producers from transplanting onions. Rains and more seasonal temperatures returned by late December when planting was nearly complete. Texas harvest in the Rio Grande Valley is progressing slowly. The San Antonio/Winter Garden area showed good progress. Recent rains in east Texas slowed most cultural activities. The High Plains continue to have favorable conditions for planting and harvesting. Bell Peppers: Winter acreage in Florida is forecast at 5,600 acres, 27 percent above last year and 17 percent above 2000. Mostly mild weather from October through December allowed planting to proceed at a normal pace in the growing areas around Immokalee, Jupiter, and Stuart. Strong winds from the Atlantic caused some bud and bloom drop in the East Coast region, however, no significant damage occurred. Spinach: Harvested acres of winter spinach in Texas is forecast at 2,000 acres, a decrease of 5 percent from 2001 and 23 percent below the 2000 crop. Harvest was slow for spinach in the Rio Grande Valley. The San Antonio-Winter Garden area showed good progress for spinach harvest, although light showers have slowed harvest. Harvest in east Texas is delayed due to recent rains. Harvesting conditions continue to be favorable in the High Plains. Strawberries: Florida winter acreage is forecast at 6,900 acres, up 6 percent from last year and 10 percent above two years ago. The warmer fall weather increased foliage growth and reduced fruit quantity. This warm weather caused the fruit to ripen two weeks earlier than normal. Tomatoes: Florida winter tomato acreage is forecast at 12,500 acres, down 11 percent from 2001 and 10 percent below 2000. Warm temperatures and mostly clear conditions boosted plant growth and allowed planting and harvesting to proceed at a normal pace during October through most of December. Dade County and other southern Peninsula areas reported no significant damage when Hurricane Michelle passed through the Florida Straits in early November. Blowing sand powered by strong winds off the Atlantic Ocean caused some quality reductions during late November. However, milder weather during most of December yielded some very good quality fruit. Temperatures plunged to freezing levels in late December and early January in many northern and central localities. However, the crop escaped significant damage due to the short duration of the colder temperatures. 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Sharpen Your Strategy at USDA's 78th Outlook Forum February 21-22, 2002 Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel Arlington, Virginia New Farm Legislation Biotech Crops in World Trade Protecting Livestock and Crops Tracking Crop and Product Identity in the Food Chain 2002 Commodity Prospects Competing in Global Markets Climate and Agriculture Put next year's economic and business outlook in focus at Outlook Forum 2002. Attend this popular event to hear the latest on market-shaping developments ranging from farm legislation to food safety concerns. Government officials, business leaders and commodity analysts will assess the outlook for 2002 and beyond, and noted economist Larry Chimerine will discuss U.S. and global economic prospects. Focus sessions featuring rural innovators will highlight trends in bio-energy, contract negotiation, rural development and other areas. To stretch your planning horizon, USDA will release new 10-year commodity projections. 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