01/13/09 Slight drop in Washington winter wheat plantings

Washington Ag January 13, 2009 A report on how many acres of winter wheat were planted by Washington growers and others across the U.S. was issued by the National Agricultural Statistics Service Monday. Linda Simpson with the Washington Field Office of the Statistics Service has the numbers. Simpson: "Washington winter wheat growers seed an estimated 1.74 million acres of winter wheat for harvest in 2009, one percent below the 2008 crop. Nationally, planted area for harvest is down 9% from 2008, while in the Pacific Northwest it is 4% below the 2008 crop." Acreage of white winter wheat, the predominant wheat class planted in Washington, was up one percent nationally, with hard red winter down four percent and soft red winter, a competitor to soft white, down 26 percent. The Statistics Service also issued a Quarterly Grains Stocks report. Simpson: "All wheat stocks in Washington in all positions on December 1st of 2008 totaled 94.2 million bushels." That was up 34 percent from December 1st of 2007. On farm wheat stocks this December in Washington were 12 million bushels compared to just 4.5 million a year ago. Barley stored on farms in Washington December 1st of 2008 totaled 1.6 million bushels, an increase of 700-thousand bushels from a year ago and the highest level since 2004. The Statistics Service also reported the U.S. supply of peas and lentils on December 1st were both below last year's level by about 20%. I'm Bob Hoff.