NC cotton growers set new record for yield in '22

“The year of 2022 closed with a record yield for cotton and a peanut yield tied with the previous record set in 2019,” said Dee Webb, North Carolina State Statistician.

“As always, we want to thank the NC farmers for taking the time to complete USDA/NASS surveys throughout the year. It is vital during these times to have quality and reliable agricultural data available to assist NC farmers, agricultural organizations, and industry experts with their decision making and forecasts.”

CORN FOR GRAIN

North Carolina farmers harvested 785,000 acres of corn for grain in 2022, down 120,000 acres from 2021.

Yield averaged 126 bushels per acre, down 23 bushels from the 149 bushels per acre averaged in 2021. Production at 98.9 million bushels was 27% lower than the 2021 total of 134.8 million bushels.

PEANUTS

North Carolina farmers harvested 116,000 acres of peanuts in 2022, 2,000 acres higher than the 114,000 acres harvested in 2021. Yield per acre at 4,400 pounds was up 50 pounds from the 2021 estimate. Production at 510 million pounds was up 3% from 496 million pounds of peanuts produced in 2021.

SOYBEANS

Soybean acres harvested in 2022 totaled 1.69 million. This was up 50,000 acres from the 1.64 million acres harvested in 2021. Yield averaged 39 bushels per acre. Down 1 bushel per acre from the 2021 average. Production totaled 65 million bushels, down 1% from last year’s production of 66 million bushels.