Vg 1-1 (1-00) Vegetables National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 13, 2000, 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 Acreage Up 2 Percent Spring Onion Acreage Up Slightly Winter Strawberry Acreage Up 2 Percent The prospective area for harvest of 13 selected fresh market vegetables during the winter quarter is forecast at 193,000 acres. This is 2 percent above 1999 and 1998. Acreage increases in snap beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, sweet corn, and spinach more than offset declines in celery, eggplant, and tomatoes. Spinach, cauliflower, and sweet corn had the largest acreage increases, while eggplant and tomatoes showed the largest acreage decrease. Broccoli, head lettuce, and bell peppers remain steady. Acres planted for spring onions, at 40,500, were up slightly from 1999 and up 4 percent from 1998. Acreage increased in Texas and went down in California and Georgia. Arizona's acreage was unchanged from 1999. Florida's winter strawberry acreage is estimated at 6,300 acres, up 2 percent from both 1999 and 1998. The release date for the Vegetable 1999 Summary has been changed from January 14, 2000 to January 28, 2000. Selected Fresh Market Vegetables and Melons: Annual Area for Harvest by Season, Major States, 1998-2000 (Domestic Units) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Area Crop :------------------------------------------------------- and : Harvested : For Season :-------------------------------------: Harvest : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Acres : Snap Beans : 11,500 9,500 9,600 Broccoli 1/ : 30,500 30,000 30,000 Cabbage : 11,300 13,000 13,800 Carrots : 27,400 24,800 26,500 Cauliflower 1/ : 9,000 10,000 11,500 Celery 1/ : 7,300 7,800 7,500 Sweet Corn : 5,800 5,900 6,800 Eggplant : 800 700 600 Escarole/Endive 2/ : 750 750 Head Lettuce : 68,000 64,500 64,500 Bell Pepper 1/ : 4,300 5,000 5,000 Spinach : 2,500 2,100 2,600 Tomatoes : 10,900 15,900 14,600 : Total Winter Crop : 190,050 189,950 193,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. 2/ Not published to avoid disclosure. Selected Fresh Market Vegetables and Melons: Annual Area for Harvest by Season, Major States, 1998-2000 (Metric Units) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Area Crop :------------------------------------------------------- and : Harvested : For Season :-------------------------------------: Harvest : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Hectares : Snap Beans : 4,650 3,840 3,890 Broccoli 1/ : 12,340 12,140 12,140 Cabbage : 4,570 5,260 5,580 Carrots : 11,090 10,040 10,720 Cauliflower 1/ : 3,640 4,050 4,650 Celery 1/ : 2,950 3,160 3,040 Sweet Corn : 2,350 2,390 2,750 Eggplant : 320 280 240 Escarole/Endive 2/ : 300 300 Head Lettuce : 27,520 26,100 26,100 Bell Pepper 1/ : 1,740 2,020 2,020 Spinach : 1,010 850 1,050 Tomatoes : 4,410 6,430 5,910 : Total Winter Crop : 76,910 76,870 78,110 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. 2/ Not published to avoid disclosure. Selected Fresh Market Vegetables and Melons: Annual Area for Harvest by Crop, State, and Total, Winter Season, 1998-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : Area : Crop : Usual :-----------------------------------: 2000 and : Harvest : Harvested : For : as Percent State : Period :-----------------------: Harvest : of 1999 : : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 : ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : ------------ Acres ----------- Percent : : Snap Beans : : FL : Jan-Mar : 11,500 9,500 9,600 101 : : Broccoli 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 30,500 30,000 30,000 100 : : Cabbage : : FL : Jan-Mar : 4,800 6,000 6,000 100 TX : Dec-Mar : 6,500 7,000 7,800 111 Total : : 11,300 13,000 13,800 106 : : Carrots : : CA : Jan-Mar : 21,000 22,000 23,000 105 FL 2/ : Nov-Mar : 4,100 TX : Dec-Mar : 2,300 2,800 3,500 125 Total : : 27,400 24,800 26,500 107 : : Cauliflower 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 9,000 10,000 11,500 115 : : Celery 1/ : : CA : Jan-Mar : 7,300 7,800 7,500 96 : : Sweet Corn : : FL : Jan-Mar : 5,800 5,900 6,800 115 : : Eggplant : : FL : Jan-Mar : 800 700 600 86 : : Escarole/Endive : : FL 3/ : Jan-Mar : 750 750 : : Head Lettuce : : AZ - Western : Nov-Apr : 51,000 44,000 45,000 102 CA : Jan-Mar : 17,000 20,500 19,500 95 Total : : 68,000 64,500 64,500 100 : : Bell Pepper 1/ : : FL : Jan-Mar : 4,300 5,000 5,000 100 : : Spinach : : TX : Dec-Mar : 2,500 2,100 2,600 124 : : Tomatoes : : FL : Jan-Mar : 10,900 15,900 14,600 92 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Includes fresh market and processing. 2/ Estimate discontinued. 3/ Not published to avoid disclosure. Onions and Strawberries for Fresh Market: Area Planted and Harvested by Crop, Season, and Total, 1998-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crop, : Planted Area : Harvested Area Season, :-------------------------------------------------------------- and : : : : : : For Harvest State : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 : 1998 : 1999 : 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Acres : Onions 1/ : Spring : AZ 2/ : 2,500 3,000 3,000 2,500 3,000 CA 2/ : 9,400 7,500 7,300 9,100 7,300 GA : 15,000 16,000 15,000 13,900 14,500 14,000 TX : 12,000 13,800 15,200 11,400 12,700 14,400 Total 2/ : 38,900 40,300 40,500 36,900 37,500 : Strawberries 3/ : Winter : FL : 6,200 6,200 6,300 6,200 6,200 6,300 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Primarily fresh market. 2/ 2000 - harvested acreage published April 7, 2000. 3/ Includes fresh market and processing. Snap Beans: Florida acreage for harvest is 9,600 acres, up 1 percent from last year but 17 percent below two years ago. Winter harvest is active. The crop is in good condition. Broccoli: California acreage is forecast at 30,000 acres, the same as last year but 2 percent below 1998. The broccoli crop is in good condition due to mild weather. Cabbage: Winter acreage for harvest is forecast at 13,800, 6 percent above 1999 and 22 percent more than 1998. The crop is doing well in Texas despite most growing areas being very dry. Winter harvest in Florida is active and the crop is in good condition. Carrots: Winter harvested acreage is forecast at 26,500, 7 percent above 1999 and 14 percent above comparable states in 1998. The California crop is reported in good condition due to mild weather. Few problems have been reported. Baby carrots continue to be in high demand. Cauliflower: California acreage is forecast at 11,500 acres, up 15 percent from 1999 and 28 percent above 1998. Cool nights and mildly warm days have been beneficial to the cauliflower crop. Celery: The winter celery crop for harvest in California is forecast at 7,500 acres, 4 percent below last year but 3 percent above the year before. Sweet Corn: Florida harvested acreage is forecast at 6,800 acres, 15 percent more than 1999 and 17 percent above 1998. Flooding caused by Hurricane Irene's rains delayed some winter crop planting in the East Coast and Dade County areas. By late October, planting increased in the southern Peninsula. Mostly dry and mild weather during November and most of December aided crop development and allowed planting to progress normally. The oldest acreage in Dade County began tasseling in early to mid-December. Dade County growers expect harvesting to start about mid-January. Eggplant: Acreage for winter harvest in Florida, at 600 acres, is down 14 percent from 1999 and 25 percent from 1998. Crop condition is good. Cutting is active and harvest is underway for regular and specialty varieties. Head Lettuce: Acreage for harvest is forecast at 64,500, the same as last year and 5 percent below two years ago. Harvest is active in the Imperial Valley of California with good quality reported. Onions: Growers intend to plant 40,500 acres of spring onions for 2000, a slight increase from 1999 and 4 percent above 1998. The California crop is progressing faster than normal due to favorable weather, thus causing growers to expect an earlier than usual harvest. Some California growers expressed concern about the lack of normal rainfall in the valley and snowfall in the mountains. In Georgia, the condition of the crop is fair to good. Weather conditions have been favorable until winter which has been drier than normal. Some growers have already irrigated the crop. Bell Peppers: Winter acreage in Florida is forecast at 5,000 acres, the same as last year and 16 percent more than 1998. Winter crop planting was delayed by flooding from Hurricane Irene during mid-October in the East Coast and southwestern areas. Planting got back on schedule as fields dried out. Mild and mostly dry weather during November and most of December provided nearly ideal conditions for plant growth and development. Cool temperatures during later December caused no significant damage to the crop. Spinach: Harvested acres of winter spinach for 2000 is forecast at 2,600 acres in Texas. This is 24 percent above 1999 and 4 percent above 1998. Strawberries: Florida winter acreage is forecast at 6,300 acres, up 2 percent from last year and the year before. Strawberry harvesting began in late November, early December at a low level. The season has progressed well. There have been no major problems thus far. Tomatoes: Florida winter tomato acreage is forecast at 14,600 acres, down 8 percent from 1999 but 34 percent above 1998. Flooding caused by Hurricane Irene during the second week of October significantly damaged some plants and delayed some transplanting of the winter crop. Dade County growers replanted the acreage lost to this flooding. Dry, mild conditions during the last half of October, all of November and most of December allowed plants to recover and winter crop transplanting to get back on schedule. By mid-December, Dade County plants damaged by Hurricane Irene were making a good crop above the crown hand while southwestern and East Coast growers started picking acreage that had no damage from the storm. Dade County producers began harvesting in late December with some first pick yields lower than normal due to the storm damage. The next "Vegetables" report will be released at 3 p.m. ET on April 7, 2000. 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