Unbeknownst to many, the value of corn, soybeans, and  wheat has increased greatly in NY over the last 5 years, led by the dramatic increase in the value of grain corn (Figure 1). Grain corn value, which approximated $700M in 2012, averaged over $500M annually from 2008-2012 compared to just less than $200M annually from 2003- 2007. The approximate 2.5-fold increase in grain corn value in NY is only exceeded by the soybean value increase. Soybean value in NY, which approximated $200M in 2012, averaged about $140M from 2008-2012 compared to just over $50M from 2003-2007, a 2.8-fold increase (Figure 1). Although the overall value of wheat is much more modest, nevertheless, wheat had a 2-fold value increase averaging above $40M annually from 2008-2012 compared to $20M annually from 2003-2007 (Figure1).

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by Bill Cox, Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Cornell University

Total field crop acreage in NY, which approximated 3,500,000 in 2012, has averaged approximately 3,385,000 from 2003-2012 Total cropland harvested in NY averaged about 3,700,000 acres from 2003-2012 so field crops represent more than 90% of the harvested crop land in NY. All grain crops (grain corn, wheat, oats, and barley) as well as soybeans, grown mostly by cash crop producers, have averaged about 950,000 acres from 2003-2012 (Figure 1). Consequently, a high percentage of field crop acreage resides on dairy farms. Corn silage, grown mostly by dairy producers, has averaged about 480,000 acres over the last 10 years. The bulk of the field crop acreage on dairy farms, thus, is in perennial forages with an average of about 1,950,000 acres from 2003-2012 (Figure 1).

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by Bill Cox and Jerry Cherney, Dept. of Crop & Soil Science, Cornell University

The New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association is seeking candidates for nomination to the United Soybean Board board of directors. Any soybean producer within New York state that owns or shares the ownership and risk of loss of soybeans can be considered for nomination. The board position is a three-year term and includes three week-long board meetings throughout the year in addition to other committee meetings. Interested candidates must be able to commit to the full three year term.
Please contact Julia Robbins, Executive Director of the New York Corn & Soybean Growers Association by COB, Thursday April 18 if you are interested in being nominated to the United Soybean Board board of directors. Julia can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 315-583-5296.

We recently received the following message in regard to the CommonGround NY radio campaign:

   "Hi, it's Sam at Cazenovia Equipment. Just heard the CommonGround radio spot. I was at the diner when it came on and it got the attention of a lot of people. Just wanted to take a second and say thank you."

Thank you for the feeback Sam! Be on the listen for more CommonGround commercials this summer in the Syracuse and Hudson Valley areas.