Purdue News

February 5, 1999 Popcorn production up despite fewer planted acres WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- An 11,000-acre reduction in popcorn planting didn't hurt Indiana's 1998 yields. Last year Indiana growers produced 254.1 million pounds of popcorn, up from 246.4 million pounds in 1997, when Indiana ranked second in the nation in popcorn output. "Popcorn production is pretty much regulated by the processing firms in the way they contract acres for production," said Ralph Gann, statistician for the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service, based at Purdue University. "It's pretty much a guessing game. The processors look at factors such as what they have left over from the previous year's crop to estimate the number of production acres they need the next year. "Most likely, the processors had some 1997 crop as a residual, so they held production acres down. But the good yields from last year's crop resulted in overall higher production numbers." The statistics service survey of about 150 Indiana popcorn producers and nine processors in the state showed that during 1998, farmers planted 78,000 acres of popcorn and harvested 77,000 acres. That is a 14 percent reduction from 1997, when producers planted 89,000 acres and harvested 88,000. "Producers dealt with some super-wet problems in June and July last summer, which may have damaged some of the crop during or just after planting," Gann said. Last year's average yield per acre was 3,300 pounds, compared to 2,800 pounds in 1997. Those yields pushed Indiana's total production numbers up 3 percent despite the reduction in acres planted and harvested. There is a slight downside to last year's increased yields -- the price, which averaged 11.7 cents per pound in 1998 vs. 12.3 cents in 1997. That puts the value of Indiana's larger 1998 crop at $29.7 million, compared to $30.3 million in 1997. The most recent national production numbers available were collected in 1997. That survey of popcorn-producing states ranked Indiana second in popcorn production, with 21 percent of the nation's output. Nebraska was No. 1, producing 27 percent. CONTACT: Gann, (765) 494-8371, e-mail: Ralph_Gann@acn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page