Crop yields continue to rise for Delaware farmers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has released its field crop summary for 2023, and while the number of bushels harvested for each crop didn’t see a year-over-year increase from 2022, there was an across-the-board increase in the yield per acre for each crop.

Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse said crop yields have been increasing for years because of better technology and better farming practices. There’s been a tremendous increase in yields nationwide, he said.

The report was issued mid-January. In Delaware, the crops summarized included corn, corn silage, barley, soybeans, winter wheat, dry hay and alfalfa hay. All the crops saw an increase in yield production – from a record high of 92 bushels per acre for winter wheat to the incremental increase of 0.28 tons per acre in dry hay production.

For purposes of the report, Delaware is included with Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Delaware was the only state to see an increase in yields for all the crops summarized.

Advances in technology that allow for changes in plant genetics are making crops that can grow in changing conditions, said Scuse.

Years ago, it was a good thing if a farmer had one field producing 200 bushels an acre, said Scuse. Now, it’s not uncommon for a farmer to have every field near 200 bushels an acre, he said.

Also, this past year specifically, the state was blessed with the right weather at the right time, said Scuse. For example, he said, peas aren’t mentioned in the report, but they also had a great year because it was a cool, dry spring, with adequate moisture and a lot of sunlight in late June.

Watermelons were about the only crop that didn’t have a good year in 2023, said Scuse, adding that Delaware is the eighth-largest producer of watermelon in the country. There were whole fields of watermelons that rotted because the fields were so wet later in the summer, he said.

For the most part, the tonnage of crops harvested in Delaware in 2023 was also up compared to 2022. Corn silage and barley saw a decrease, but there was also less acreage planted for those crops.

USDA field crop summer for 2023

The following information for Delaware was issued by Charles E. Butler Jr., acting regional director of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Northeastern Regional Field Office: 

• Corn for grain production is estimated at 32.5 million bushels, up 23% from the 2022 estimate. The average yield in Delaware is estimated at 189 bushels per acre, 19 bushels above the 2022 average yield. Area harvested for grain is estimated at 172,000 acres, up 10% from 2022

• Corn silage production is estimated at 50,000 tons, down 12% from 2022. Silage yield is estimated at a record-high 25 tons per acre, up 6 tons from 2022. Area harvested for silage is estimated at 2,000 acres, down 33% from 2022

• Barley production is estimated at 1.14 million bushels, down 18% from 2022. Yield is estimated at a record-high 95 bushels per acre, up 8 bushels from 2022. Harvested area, at 12,000 acres, is down 25% from 2022

• Soybean production is estimated at 6.81 million bushels, up slightly from 2022. Yield is estimated at 46 bushels per acre, up 3 bushels from 2022. Harvested area, at 148,000 acres, is down 6% from 2022

• Winter wheat production is estimated at 6.35 million bushels, up 55% from 2022. Yield is estimated at a record-high 92 bushels per acre, up 16 bushels from the previous year. Harvested area, at 69,000 acres, is 28% above the previous year

• All dry hay production is estimated at 34,000 tons, up 21% from 2022. Yield is estimated at 2.83 tons per acre, up 0.28 tons from the previous year. Harvested area, at 12,000 acres, is up 9% from the previous year

• Alfalfa dry hay production is estimated at 13,000 tons, more than double the tons from 2022. Yield is estimated at 3.2 tons per acre, up 12% from the previous year. Harvested area, at 4,000 acres, is doubled from the previous year.