2012 winter wheat crop going in the ground
Farm and Ranch September 15, 2011 USDA this week issued the first progress report on winter wheat planting for the 2012 crop. Department meteorologist Brad Rippey says at the start of this week six percent of the crop had been sown. Rippey: “That is behind the five year average pace of ten percent and a little behind last year‘s pace of 8%. Leading the way with winter wheat planting as of September 11th Washington state. Almost one-third, 30% planted.” Just two percent of next year’s winter wheat had been planted in Oregon, five percent in Idaho. Of course harvest still continues in the PNW with a little winter wheat left to cut and more spring wheat. Nationally USDA’s Rippey says; Rippey: “Now 83% of the spring wheat harvested by September 11th. Five year average pace 87%. And at this time we are actually ahead of last year‘s pace of 81%.” In the PNW Oregon farmers still had ten percent of their spring wheat to harvest at the start of this week, Washington growers had 17 percent yet to cut and in Idaho 15 percent of the spring wheat was still in the field. USDA says 85 percent of the U.S. barley crop is in the bin. The corn crop is 29 percent mature. That compares to the five year average for now of 33 percent. One-third of Washington’s potato crop has been harvested well behind the five year average of 52 percent. Five percent of Idaho’s spuds have been dug, which is just a few points behind the average pace for now. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.
