08/15/08 A smaller Washington wheat crop

Washington Ag August 15, 2008 Washington farmers are harvesting more acres of wheat this year than in 2007 but they will actually be putting less grain in the bins. The August crop production report from the Washington field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service forecast total wheat production in the state this year at 127-million 185-thousand bushels, about 1.5 million bushels less than in 2007. Dennis Koong with the Washington field office of the Statistics Service says three bushels an acre were trimmed from winter wheat yields from the July forecast putting the average yield at 59 bushels, down five bushels from last year. The spring wheat yield at 37 bushels an acre was unchanged from a month ago and would be the lowest since 1981. Koong: "The crop condition just isn't as good as it has been in past years and the hot, dry weather has really taken its toll on the wheat crop." Those fewer wheat bushels are worth more this year than a year ago though, about a dollar a bushel more compared to prices at this time in 2007. Barley acreage in Washington is down this year and so are yields and the crop is forecast to be down 16 percent from 2007 at 11.3 million bushels. Hop production in the state is up though, and at an estimated 59.4 million pounds would be the largest crop since 1981. I'm Bob Hoff.