PNW wheat crop gets bigger with some record to near record yields

Farm and Ranch August 12, 2011 The long cool, wet spring that delayed harvest in the Pacific Northwest has also led to higher wheat yield expectations for both winter and spring wheat than forecast just a month ago. And in Washington and Oregon higher yields than last year.

In its August report the National Agricultural Statistics Service now has average winter yields at 72 bushels an acre in Washington, just one bushel below the record set in 2000. NASS puts Oregon winter wheat yields at 77 bushels an acre, which it says is a record high. In Idaho the forecast is for 80 bushels. Spring wheat yields in Washington are estimated at 53 bushels, in Oregon 65 bushels and in Idaho at 76 bushels an acre.

U.S. soft white wheat production, most of which occurs in the PNW is pegged at 277.7 million bushels, up about ten percent from 2010.

Total U.S. wheat production is now forecast at 2.08 billion bushels, down one percent from the July estimate and down six percent from 2010. U.S. hard red spring wheat production is forecast to drop 17 percent from last year because of unplanted acres in the northern plains.

As for USDA’s supply and demand report Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group says there little change in ending stocks.

Scoville: “USDA actually left wheat ending stocks about unchanged at 671 million bushels at 670 million last month. They are finding less use and I think that seems to be mostly on the export side for right now.”

USDA did up the range of its average wheat price forecast. Its $7 to $8.20 a bushel.

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

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