National winter wheat ratings resume

Farm and Ranch April 7, 2009 USDA this week resumed its weekly crop progress reports and that includes condition ratings for the winter wheat crop. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says the condition of the crop nationally is similar to last year's numbers. Rippey: "The crop is rated 43% good to excellent, 22% very poor to poor. And that compares to last year at this time, 45% good to excellent, 21% very poor to poor." Most of that very poor to poor wheat is in the Southern Plains, specifically Texas, because of dry conditions. But there is some good wheat in the country too and some of it is in the Pacific Northwest. Rippey: "If you are looking for good wheat at this time of the season we are looking at a number of states, seven specifically that have at least two-thirds of the crop rated in good to excellent condition. And just to list them off alphabetically those are California, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. Again all those states at least two-thirds of the crop rated good to excellent on April 5th." Outside of Idaho and California most of those states are either soft red producing states, or in the case of Michigan, soft white wheat producing. Elsewhere in the northwest, Washington's winter wheat is rated 45 percent good to excellent. Less of the crop is in the very poor to poor category than last fall when weekly ratings ended. Currently 20 percent is very poor to poor. The same is true for Oregon where now only 14 percent of the winter wheat is very poor to poor with 38 percent good to excellent. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.