Winter wheat outlook

Winter wheat crop condition improvements nationwide to start May. Meteorologist Brad Rippie says based on this month's initial USDA crop progress report. Speaker 2: The bottom line is the crop across the central and southern Great Plains is really struggling. We still see almost half the crop rated very poor to poor in Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma. More than half in Texas at 56%. Very poor to poor, and Nebraska leading the nation among major production states. 67% of the winter wheat rated very poor to poor. Speaker 1: The winter wheat crop condition reflects a combination of weather factors. First, excessive dryness in the southern and central plains. This spring. Speaker 2: You go back to March and it was a record setting, warm march for the nation as a whole, very close to record setting warmth for the month of April for the lower 48 states. Speaker 1: The dryness and warmth combined to create an accelerated pace to winter wheat crop development in the lower two thirds of the plains. Speaker 2: Looking at those heading numbers for winter wheat as of May 3rd, nearly half the crop 49% already headed on that date. Five year average is just 32% last year at this time, 37%. The progress is pretty phenomenal. We're seeing development anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks ahead of schedule in a very general sense, across the Great Plains region. Speaker 1: The fast developing crop, however, faced a series of freeze events reaching as far south as the Central Plains in a stretch from mid-April to early May. The timing of these freezes at critical points of winter wheat crop progress. Looking ahead weather wise, Rippie says there is potential of needed precipitation later in the month. In the Central Plains. Speaker 2: However, some of those southern states like Texas and Oklahoma, it has quickly becoming too late. Any rain at this point is not going to help the crop. It's just too far along the wheats already filling out. It's not performing well, so expect some pretty high abandonment numbers. Unfortunately, when things come down to the harvest season for the southern Great Plains abroad. Speaker 1: Baine reporting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C..