More Crop Production

Tidbits last week discussed the latest USDA crop production estimates for Nebraska’s two largest crops, corn and soybeans. Crop production in Nebraska, though, is more than corn and soybeans. Sugar beets, sunflowers, sorghum, dry beans and many other commodities are also raised in the state. Abygail Streff, economist and policy analyst for Nebraska Farm Bureau, recently scoured the latest USDA production estimates to gather production estimates for the state’s other crops.

According to Streff, the sugar beet yield in Nebraska this year is projected to average 29.7 tons per acre, but production is forecast to be off 4% at 1.37 million tons. Sorghum production is expected to be off compared to last year too, down 14%, but Nebraska is projected to have the highest average yield compared to other major sorghum producing states (Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas) at around 92 bushels per acre. Acres in potato production this year remained stable compared to last year with an estimated 19,900 acres harvested. Yield is forecast to be around 500 hundredweight (cwt) per acre, an increase from 485 cwt in 2024, and production is expected to be 995 million pounds, off 1% from last year.