Wheat Outlook

Wheat Outlook

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey, has the latest outlook for the nation's spring wheat crop and says the pace of the winter wheat harvest is ahead of the same time last year.

Eighty five percent of the crop has been cut, three percentage points behind the five year average. But ahead of last year's 80 percent, most of remaining progress across the northern plains and the northwest. Despite favorable weather, its function of the crop developing a bit more slowly than typical for that region. The northern plains in the northwest just waiting for the crop to fully mature in some areas. And Montana, only 20 percent of the winter wheat has been harvested. Five year average is 52 percent. Further west in Washington state, where it was very hot, dry up. Thirty three percent harvested. Forty eight percent is the five year average where the wheat ready to go. It has been ideal for cutting spring wheat harvest. Five percent is the national number. 10 percent is the five year average. But we're ahead of last year's two percent, five of the six production states under 10 percent for harvest progress. The exception is South Dakota. Thirty five percent harvested, but even there, that's slightly behind the five year average of thirty seven percent. As harvest gets underway, we should be pretty well locked into our condition. Looks like we are at seventy three percent good to excellent and five percent very poor to poor. Very similar to how we finished out last year when the crop was rated. Seventy three percent good to excellent and five percent very poor to poor.

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