Ag Facts 

New York is an Agricultural State

Agriculture is important to New York State. Agricultural production returned almost $4.7 billion to the farm economy in 2010. About 23 percent of the state’s land area or 7.00 million acres are used by the 36,300 farms to produce a very diverse array of food products. Here are some of the items in which New York ranks high nationally:

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS
Dairy and animal production in New York provided $2.39 billion value of production to farmers in 2010

DAIRY PRODUCTS
Milk is New York’s leading agricultural product and is produced all across the state. Milk sales account for onehalf of total agricultural receipts. Production in 2010 was 12.7 billion pounds with a preliminary value of $2.2 billion. New York is the nation’s 4th leading producer and Wyoming is the State’s leading county..

MEAT PRODUCTION
New York livestock producers marketed 289 million pounds of meat animals during 2010 bringing in $191 million in cash receipts. Sales from cattle and calves accounted for $183 million, hogs and pigs returned $9.7 million, and sheep and lambs provided $4.4 million

POULTRY PRODUCTION
The receipts of New York eggs, ducks, broilers and turkeys plus the receipts for other chickens totaled $111 million for 2010. Eggs made up $66.2 million of the total. New York ranks 20 th among all egg producing states

CROP PRODUCTION
Field crops, fruits and vegetables returned $2.05 billion in receipts to New York farmers in 2010

FRUITS
The value of New York’s 2010 tree fruit And grape crops totaled $332 million, up 14 percent from the 2009 value.

Apples
New York ranks 2 nd nationally with production worth about $233 million in 2010. Three general areas produce most of the apples: along the southern Lake Ontario shore, along the Hudson Valley, and along the upper Lake Champlain Valley. New York’s leading varieties are McIntosh, Empire, Red Delicious and Golden Delicious

Grapes
Wine and juice grape production places New York 3 rd behind California and Washington. The crop was worth $68.4 million in 2010. Sixty-eight percent of the production was for juice and 30 percent went into wines and 2 percent for fresh market. The four major producing areas are Lake Erie area, the Finger Lake

Tart Cherries
Production in New York ranks 4th in the Nation. Production in 2010 totaled 7.8 million pounds with a value of $1.36 million.

Pears
Production ranked 4th in the nation with 8,300 tons and had a value of $4.25 million

Strawberries
Strawberries are the 4th most valuable fruit in New York and placed New York 8th in national production. Growers harvested 3.50 million pounds in 2010. The crop was worth $6.90 million to growers

VEGETABLES
The value of vegetable production totaled $409 million in 2010. Fresh market vegetable production ranks 5th among all states. Leading crops in New York are cabbage, sweet corn and onions

Cabbage
New York produced the third largest crop of cabbage in the Nation. Cabbage is principally grown south of Lake Ontario in Monroe, Genesee, Orleans, Ontario, and Niagara counties. New York cabbage is typically stored for sale as fresh during winter months. Value of the fresh market crop in 2010 totaled $74.4 million

Sweet Corn
Produced statewide, sweet corn had a value of $71.1 million. Concentrations are found in the Lower Hudson Valley and around the Genesee Valley. Production of fresh market sweet corn crop ranked 4th in the natio

Onions
An important crop with value of sales of $54.2 million in 2010. Onions are grown in New York’s muck soils in Orange, Orleans, Oswego, Madison and Wayne counties. The State ranked 5th in production for 2010

Snap Beans
Grown in the Central and Western regions for fresh and processing. The 2010 fresh market and processing crop was valued at $38.4 million. Fresh production accounted for 64 percent of the total value. New York ranks 4th in fresh market production

Other Vegetables
Tomatoes: $28.5 million, 11th nationally
Pumpkins: $35.1 million, 2nd nationally
Cucumbers: $18.5 million, 7th nationally
Squash: $36.8 million, 4th nationally
Cauliflower: $3.44 million, 3rd nationally

FIELD CROPS
New York produces a variety of field crops largely in support of its dairy industry. Corn, soybeans and wheat are most widely grown. New York ranks 3rd in corn silage production with a value of $311 million. Grain corn ranked 17th with production worth $460 million. Soybeans were valued at $147 million. The state placed 9th in oat production, 27th in wheat and 22nd for soybeans production. Hay receipts put New York 26th and were valued at $261 million in 2010. Most hay is used on farms and its value is realized through sale of milk and livestock. Fall potatoes production reached a value of $69.1 million in 2010 and made New York the 11th leading producer

MAPLE SYRUP
At $12.3 million, New York ranks 2nd behind Vermont in value. New York also ranks 2nd behind Vermont in 2011 production with 564,000 gallon

FLORICULTURE CROPS
In 2010, New York floriculture products were valued at $183 million. Bedding and garden plants top the list of commodities. The wholesale value of New York’s floriculture output ranks 7th nationally at $183 million. A variety of crops are produced in 21.9 million square feet of covered area and on 903 acres of open ground.