Wisconsin Pea and Sweet Corn Trends

Mike Rankin
Crops and Soils Agent
University of Wisconsin - Extension

        Wisconsin and Fond du Lac County have had a rich tradition in the production of processed vegetable crops, in particular sweet corn and green peas.  During the 1990's there have been many changes in the vegetable industry.  Specifically, consolidation and change of ownership of food processing companies has resulted in fewer but larger processors, a loss of jobs within the industry, a change of processing plant ownership that is sometimes outside of Wisconsin, plant closings, and a shift of vegetable production both within and outside of the state.  Although processing crops are sure to remain an important part of the state's agricultural infrastructure, a recent analysis of production data reveals some disturbing trends.

Sweet Corn:
        Since 1990, the total number of harvested sweet corn acres in Wisconsin has dropped from 141,200 to 94,900 (Figure 1).  During this same period of time, Minnesota has held their acreage steady while Washington has increased acreage to the point where they now lead the nation in total production because of higher average yields than those obtained in the Midwest.  Wisconsin's rank in total production has dropped from 1^st in 1990 to 3^rd in 2000.  Overall, U.S. sweet corn acres have increased since 1980 but much of that growth has been in areas where processing plants are set-up to freeze rather than can product (e.g. areas like Washington).

        Within the state, there has been a net gain in acreage for the counties in the central sands and a significant loss of acres in the east central region (Figure 2).  The acres of sweet corn grown in Fond du Lac County are about one-half of what was grown in 1990.  Back in 1980, Fond du Lac and Dodge Counties accounted for 30 percent of the state's total sweet corn production while today that number stands at just 15 percent.  The reasons given for a shift in acres to the central sands include higher yields, larger fields, and less risk when grown under irrigation.

Green Peas:
        Wisconsin pea acreage dropped from just over 100,000 acres in 1980 to 50,000 acres in 2000 (Figure 3).  Total U.S. acreage has declined by about 45,000 acres during this same period.  Hence, virtually all of the loss of U.S. acreage has occurred in Wisconsin.  Since 1980, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of acres grown for canning (80,200 less acres) and an increase in the acreage used for freezing (35,780 more acres).  Minnesota has been the only state with a significant acreage increase during this time period.  Like sweet corn, Wisconsin ranked 3^rd in total pea production in 2000 (behind Minnesota and Washington).