12/11/08 USDA says no big concern for winter wheat

Farm and Ranch December 11, 2008 A very good picture for winter wheat. That's the assessment of the U.S. crop this week from USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey. Rippey: "The only areas we have really been watching with concern about winter wheat has been the southeastern plains and also in parts of the Northwest." USDA's National Weather Summary for this past week says pockets of unfavorable dryness persisted in the northwest winter wheat areas. There is also a problem in Oklahoma and Texas where there was not much fall rain to get the crop established either. Rippey: "And as a result we have seen the percentage of the wheat rated poor to very poor creeping up in Texas." For example, back in October only 11 percent of Texas winter wheat was rated poor to very poor condition. Fifty two percent was good to excellent. Rippey says not so now. Rippey: "Now fast forward to the present, the winter wheat very poor to poor increasing to 27% and now only 35% good to excellent. So, dryness is starting to take a toll." Of course anything can happen by spring time. Texas supplies about five to six percent of the U.S. winter wheat crop. Some plains states continue weekly crop ratings through the winter but the Pacific Northwest states do not. Rippey says some Midwest states are still trying to wrap up this year's corn harvest. He says frozen ground in those areas now will hopefully help farmers get the job done. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.