2017 Northwest Wheat Acreage Down, While Potato Plantings Were Mixed

The acres of wheat planted in Oregon last year totaled 775,000 acres a 4% drop from 2016 figures.  Harvested acres in Oregon hit 763,000 acres, again, down 4% year-over-year.  But production increased 20% to 48.1 million bushels, and yields increased an estimated 12.9 bushels per acre.  In Washington, wheat plantings decreased 2% in 2017 to 2.20 million acres.  Harvested hit 2.14 million acres, a drop of 3% year over year.  Production meanwhile hit 143 million bushels, a decrease of 9% from 2016 figures, and yield dropped 4.9 bushels per acre.

Oregon hay producers harvested a total of 1.10 million acres last year, down 3% from a year earlier.  Production totaled 3.42 million tons, off 12% from 2016.  And yield slipped 0.33 tons.  In Washington, hay acreage totaled 740,000 acres, down 12% from 2016, with production dropping 11%.  Washington’s yield was up slightly in 2017, up 0.04 tons per acre.

Washington potatoes totaled 165,000 acres last year, down 3%.  The harvest of 165,000 acres was down 2% from last year.  Production was down 6%.  In Oregon, potatoes planted totaled 39,000 acres, unchanged from 2016.  Harvested acres at 38,900 was unchanged from last year.  And Oregon production was down 7%

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