Southern Wheat Production
While drought conditions pushed overall wheat production in the U.S. Down in 2021, Southern wheat and small grain yields increased.
Winter wheat production in Alabama for 2021 was pegged at 9.13 million bushels. That’s up 81 percent from 2020. Acreage of Winter wheat planted at 175,000 acres, and acreage harvested at 110,000 acres, were both up 40,000 from the previous year. Yield averaged 83 bushels per acre, up 11 bushels from the previous year.
In Georgia, oat production for 2021 is listed at 1.40 million bushels, up 30 percent from 2020. Planted acreage, at 80,000 acres, and harvested acreage, at 20,000 acres were both unchanged.
Winter wheat production for 2021, at 6.16 million bushels, was up 32 percent from 2020. Winter wheat planted acreage, at 220,000 acres, was up 30,000 and harvested acreage, at 110,000 acres was up 25,000 from the previous year. Yield, at 56 bushels per acre, was up 1 bushel from the previous year.
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer reported that all wheat production totaled 1.65 billion bushels in 2021, down 10 percent from the revised 2020 total of 1.83 billion bushels.’
He points to drought in the north and the western US.
Meyer: “I think what you see is continued evidence of what are really harsh drought conditions in those regions. I think you see that pervasive in terms of adjustments made in winter wheat, spring wheat and small grains, barley, oats..”
Area harvested for grain totaled 37.2 million acres, up 1 percent from the previous year. The yield was estimated at 44.3 bushels per acre, down 5.4 bushels from the previous year.
