Condition ratings decline in the hard red winter wheat belt

Farm and Ranch January 6, 2011 USDA does not issue weekly crop condition ratings for winter wheat during the winter but some states do.

Rippey: “We do now have the end of December conditions filtering in for several of the states and as expected we have seen some deterioration in the crop across the central and southern Plains.”

USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey points to the nation’s leading winter wheat producing state, Kansas, as an example. Dry conditions there led to one-quarter of the crop rated as very poor to poor at the end of November. At the end of December one-third of the Kansas crop is rated in that category. Likewise, very good to excellent ratings have also dropped over the past month.

Rippey: “While no single event has been a killer for this wheat crop we have seen an accumulation of events that being the developing drought, the temperature extremes, frequently windy conditions, that have taken a gradual toll on the winter wheat crop across the central Plains.”

Rippey says nearly perfect weather is going to be needed over the next two months to revive the wheat crop going into March and April. And there is a chance of some moisture later this week in the region.

Rippey: “But like so many other storms this winter it looks like the most significant moisture will fall east of the primary wheat belt and probably will not provide significant drought relief.”

USDA says winter moisture in the eastern cornbelt has improved the condition of the soft red winter wheat crop there. The Pacific Northwest crop had good moisture going into winter and has received some timely snows and the northern Plains winter wheat has a good snow cover.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.

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