NW Winter Wheat Production Down 8%

NASS expects a noticeable drop in winter wheat production this year.

Washington production is forecast at 112 million bushels, down 11% from 2018.  Yield is expected to average 68.0 bushels per acre, down 8.00 bushels from the previous year.  Growers planted an estimated 1.70 million acres in the fall of 2018, unchanged from the previous year. Harvested acres were forecast at 1.65 million acres, unchanged from 2018.

In Oregon, winter wheat production is forecast at 41.2 million bushels, down 12% year-over-year.  Yield is expected to average 58.0 bushels per acre, down 9.00 bushels from last year.  Growers planted an estimated 720,000 acres in the fall of 2018, unchanged from the previous year. Growers expected to harvest 710,000 acres, up 15,000 acres from the previous year.

As of May 1^st, winter wheat production in Idaho was forecast at 60.0 million bushels, a 2% drop from last year.  Yield is expected to average 87.0 bushels per acre, down 3.00 bushels from last year.  Idaho growers planted an estimated 730,000 acres in the fall of 2018, up 10,000 acres from the previous year. Harvested acres were forecast at 690,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from a year ago.

Nationally, winter wheat production is expected to be 1.27 billion bushels, up 7% from 2018.  NASS predicts yields at 50.3 bushels per acre, up 2.40 bushels from last year.  Growers planted an estimated 31.5 million acres in the fall of 2018, down 1.03 million acres from the previous year. Harvested acres were forecast at 25.2 million acres, up 2% from 2018.

U.S. White Winter wheat production is forecast at 224 million bushels, down 5 percent from last year. Of this total, 22.3 million bushels are Hard White and 201 million bushels are Soft White. U.S. Hard Red Winter, at 780 million bushels, is up 18 percent from 2018. Soft Red Winter, at 265 million bushels, is down 7% from 2018.

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