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USDA to survey farmers' planting intentions for 2025: As the 2025 crop production season begins, producers nationwide will be contacted to determine their plans for the upcoming growing season.
Each year, the agriculture industry anticipates USDA's Prospective Plantings report, which provides the first survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers' planting intentions for the year. We mail the survey to more than 6,000 producers across the northeastern U.S., asking producers to provide information about the types of crops they intend to plant in 2025, how many acres they intend to plant, and the amounts of grain and oilseed they store on their farms.
Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stocks reports on March 31, 2025. These and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications.
Northeastern Region highlights from Census of Aquaculture: Maine was among the top ten in the nation, ranking 9th in aquaculture sales overall, despite a 2% decrease. The only other state that had a decrease in the northeastern region was Maryland. All other states reflected an increase.
Nationally, sales increased in all aquaculture product categories between 2018 and 2023. Food fish, which includes fish raised primarily for food as well as eggs from those fish, accounted for 43% of aquaculture sales in 2023. Sales of food fish totaled $819.6 million, up 14% from 2018.
Sales of mollusks, the second-largest product category, totaled $575.5 million, up 30% from 2018, and accounted for 30% of aquaculture sales. Crustacean sales totaled $175.7 million, up 75% from 2018. Ornamental fish sales increased 77% between 2018 and 2023.
Pennsylvania sheep and goat inventory: All sheep and lamb inventory in Pennsylvania on Jan. 1, 2025, totaled 98,000 head, down 1% from 99,000 head the prior year. Breeding sheep inventory increased to 80,000 head on Jan. 1, 2025, from 78.,000 head on Jan. 1, 2024.
The 2024 lamb crop of 69,000 head was unchanged from 2023. The 2024 lambing rate was 115 lambs per 100 ewes one year and older compared to 119 lambs per 100 ewes one year and older on Jan. 1, 2023.
Shorn wool production in Pennsylvania during 2024 was 270,000 pounds, down from 300,000 pounds in 2023. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 43,000 head, down from 48,000 head the prior year. The average price paid for wool sold in 2024 was $0.90 per pound, compared to $0.85 per pound. The total value was $243,000, down from $255,000 in 2023.
Sheep death loss during 2024 totaled 4,000 head, unchanged from 2023. Lamb death loss increased from 9,000 head in 2023 to 10,000 head in 2024.
Milk goat inventory was 13,500 head, down from 14,000 head the previous year. Meat and all other goats in Pennsylvania totaled 37,000 head, down from 39,000 head on Jan. 1, 2024.
Pennsylvania cattle inventory: All cattle and calves in Pennsylvania, as of Jan. 1, 2025, totaled 1.37 million head, down 10,000 head (< 1%) from Jan. 1, 2024. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 660,000, are down 10,000 (1%) from Jan. 1, 2024. Beef cows, at 195,000 head, are down 10,000 head (5%) from Jan. 1, 2024. Milk cows, at 465,000 head, are unchanged from Jan. 1, 2024. The 2024 calf crop was estimated at 530,000 head, unchanged from Jan. 1, 2024. Cattle and calves on feed is no longer available for Pennsylvania, following the 2022 Census of Agriculture.