10/20/08 Southern Hemisphere wheat crop

Farm and Ranch October 20, 2008 Harvest is approaching in the Southern Hemisphere wheat exporting countries of Australia and Argentina. Australia had two years of severe drought which reduced their exports but as USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerry Bange says, despite some problems, the crop down under is rebounding this year. Bange: "We have seen a very, very sharp recovery in Australian wheat production this year. We did take the estimate down a little bit this month because they are having some dry conditions that continue to be in the southern part of New South Wales and into Victoria and into southern Australia. Nevertheless, we think that Australia owing to a very good crop in the west and in parts of New South Wales is looking at a crop of about 21.5 million tons. That is a very sharp increase. An increase of about 65% from last year." Australian farmers had increased their seeded area by nine percent because of high prices. In Argentina dryness has been a problem too, but USDA meteorologist Mark Brusberg says recent rains have helped some of the wheat crop there. Brusberg: "It came too late for some of the winter wheat crop especially in the north. Some of southern areas, Buenos Aires, La Pampas, the heart of the southern wheat belt, the rain came really in the nick of time. So you have some areas where there has been irreversible damage. You have some areas where the rain has been very beneficial." The government in Argentina just estimated its wheat crop at about ten million metric tons. It was sixteen million last year. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.