05/29/08 U.S. spring wheat ratings well below a year ago

Farm and Ranch May 29, 2008 The first USDA condition rating for the 2008 U.S. spring wheat crop shows ratings well under last year at this time. The crop is rated 52 percent good to excellent. In 2007 seventy-nine percent of spring wheat was in good to excellent condition. In the Northwest Idaho's spring wheat is in much better shape than the national average at 81 percent good to excellent. Washington and Oregon are worse with spring wheat in Oregon only 29 percent good to excellent and Washington 37 percent. As for the U.S. winter wheat crop, USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says it continues to lag behind in development because of the cool spring. Rippey: "The winter wheat crop overall is just 64% headed. Five-year average 76%. The crop has not yet begun to head in some of the far northern areas such as Montana, only one percent headed at this point and in South Dakota and Michigan." Heading is also running behind normal in the Pacific Northwest. Recent rains were much needed by winter wheat in the Northwest but rating conditions still declined in both Oregon and Washington. USDA's Rippey says however, that national ratings improved. Rippey: "Now rated 47 percent good to excellent on May 25th. That is up from 45% a week ago." At the start of this week 88 percent of the U.S. corn crop had been planted, which was only six points behind the five year average. Emergence of the corn crop however, was 24 points behind average for now. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.