What's in a Bushel

Recently I had the opportunity to buy some new wheat and corn from a granary. The problem was the price was being quoted by the bushel and the salespeople were not interested in taking the time to teach a knuckle head like me. I can't say I blame them as they were used to Mack Trucks with huge cargo trailers and here I was in line with my puny Dodge Ram pickup with a 3/4 bed.

Well I got tired of hearing "it depends on what your buying" so I searched the internet to find out a more definitive answer.

Then I decided that maybe everybody else would be interested in the neat tables I found that defines how many pounds of product are in a bushel. That way next time you can convert the cost per bushel to cost per pound to see if you are getting a good deal or not.

Commodity	Weight per bushel	Commodity	Weight per bushel
Alfalfa	60 lb	Grass, Orchard	14 lb
Barley	48 lb	Grass, Redtop	14 lb
Clover, Alsike	60 lb	Grass, Timothy	45 lb
Clover, Crimson	60 lb	Lespedeza	40-50 lb
Clover, Ladino	60 lb	Millet	50 lb
Clover, White	60 lb	Oats	32 lb
Clover, Red	60 lb	Rape	60 lb
Clover Sweet	60 lb	Rye	56 lb
Corn, shelled	56 lb	Sorghum, forage	50 lb
Corn, ear	70 lb	Sorghum, grain	56 lb
Cotton	32 lb	Soybeans	60 lb
Cowpeas	60 lb	Sudan grass	28 lb
Flax	60 lb	Sunflower (oil type)	24-32 lb
Grass, Brome (smooth)	14 lb	Trefoil, Birdsfoot	60 lb
Grass, Blue	14 lb	Vetch	60 lb
Grass, Fescue (tall)	14 lb	Wheat	60 lb

Data from the University of Missouri's Agricultural Publication G4020, by William J. Murphy, Department of Agronomy.

Commodity	Weight per bushel	Commodity	Weight per bushel
Apples	48 lbs.	Mustard Greens	18 lbs.
Lima Beans (unshelled)	30 lbs.	Onions	57 lbs.
Pole Beans	28 lbs.	Peaches	50 lbs.
Snap Beans	30 lbs.	Field Peas	25 lbs.
Shelled Corn	56 lbs.	Sweet Potatoes (green)	55 lbs.
Corn (in ear)	70 lbs.	Sweet Potatoes (dry)	50 lbs.
Cowpeas	60 lbs.	Spinach	20 lbs.
Cucumbers	48 lbs.	Tomatoes	53 lbs.
Eggplant	33 lbs.	Turnips (without tops)	54 lbs.
English Peas (in hull)	30 lbs.	Turnip Greens (dry)	16 lbs.
Muscadines	50 lbs.	Turnip Greens (wet)	18 lbs.
Okra	26 lbs.

Data from the Georgia Farm Bureau, which states, "These weights are based on federal standards and can be used as general guidelines when purchasing these commodities in bushel quantities."