Things you should know about crop production in Alabama

1. Things you should know about crop production in Alabama Bob Goodman, Extension Economist

5. Cotton 3.8 M ac Peanuts ½ M ac Corn 3.8 M ac Soybeans 2.1 M ac Wheat .725 M ac Sweet Potatoes Sweet Corn Tomatoes Watermelons Potatoes Crops in Alabama

6. Crops in Alabama Yield Variability • Cotton - 409 lb/ac to 766 lb/ac • Peanuts - 1490 lb/ac to 2675 lb/ac • Corn - 55 bu/ac to 107 bu/ac • Soybeans - 16 bu/ac to 35 bu/ac • Wheat - 34 bu/ac to 54 bu/ac

7. Cotton: stable at 5-600,000 acres. Soybeans: losing gulf acreage, stable at around 180-200,000 acres in NW. Corn: susceptible to drought and heat, usually plant about 200,000 acres Wheat: Planted acres increased for no-till, harvested acres decreasing Peanuts: Loss of program is moving peanuts into new areas of state. Acreage constant at 190-200,000. Recent Cropping History

8. Cropping History • Many areas in Alabama are marginal crop production areas: • “Poor” soils? – Piedmont, black-belt, coastal plains • “Never more than a week away from a drought” – Summer rainfall pattern • Lack of irrigation potential • Small, irregular fields • Rolling topography • History of under-capitalization, low production

9. Cropping History • Some areas are prime crop production areas: same areas TN valley, Wiregrass, Coastal Plain • Would continue to produce without government commodity payments • Greater capitalization, better management, more production inputs, increased use of new technology, larger farms

13. Recent Cotton Developments • Boll Weevil Eradication – early ’90’s • Budworm resistance and Bt - 1995 • Roundup-Ready cotton - 1998 • Crop Rotation with corn or peanuts • Export trade and the domestic textile industry

14. Cotton • About 80% transgenic • Roundup-ready • Bt • Stacked • About 80% Conservation Tillage • Cover Crops • Stubble Cropping • Spindle picked • Most cotton in Alabama does not receive an over-the-top insecticide treatment.

17. Peanuts • Now a commodity program crop • Loan price is $355 per ton, old price support was about $600 per ton • Twin row, No-till adoption • Peanut acreage shifting

20. Soybeans • 2 Million acres in 1979 down to 200,000 • Roundup-Ready and conservation tillage • 1994 Plant Variety Protection Act • Emergence of private patented varieties

23. Corn • Emerging as important rotational crop for cotton in North Alabama • Amenable to new technology: • Bt • Twin-Row planting • High plant population • Precision Ag

25. Wheat • Planted for grain, forage, cover • Weed control, disease control is an issue if planted for grain

26. Crop Expense Summary

27. Crop Costs and Returns

28. Crop Insurance • MPCI – Multi Peril Crop Insurance • Based on 50-75% APH x 55-100% RMA crop price • CRC – provides revenue protection based on price and yield expectations by paying for losses below the guarantee at the higher of an early-season price or the harvest price.

29. Commodity Programs • Fixed Payments • Countercyclical Payments • Loan Deficiency Payments • Emergency Program Payments

30. Commodity Programs Target Price Fixed Payment Market Price Countercyclical Payment Loan Rate Loan Deficiency Payment Fixed and countercyclical payments are “decoupled” from production and are made on 85% of a farm’s “base” crop acreage. Peanuts are a commodity crop in this program.

31. Commodity Programs • Promote Market Stability • Assist Conservation of Natural Resources • Insure Self-Sufficiency • Preserve the rural economy and community • Help all agricultural sectors • Allow alternative uses for commodities • Have a history of success • Are relatively inexpensive

39. Issues for the future • Role of Public Sector and NGO’s in technology development and ownership of genetic material. • The importance of our agricultural identity and heritage in the face of an increasingly urban society. • Adoption of new technology • Genetics • Precision agriculture