05/14/07 Forecast for more wheat and higher prices

Farm and Ranch May 14, 2007 USDA is forecasting a U.S. winter wheat crop of 1.6 billion bushels this year, up 24 percent from the drought plagued crop of 2006. Combined with a non-surveyed estimate for spring wheat, USDA chief economist Keith Collins says total U.S. wheat production could be just over two billion bushels, up 20 percent over last year. Collins: "With a 2.2 billion bushel wheat crop with think that will enable us to expand our exports in 2007/2008. Wheat supplies around the world are going to be tight. We expect world wheat stocks to decline again in 2007/2008. So we should have an opportunity to expand our exports. We should also see more wheat fed because of the higher corn prices." And Collins says USDA is forecasting higher wheat prices for farmers too. Collins: "Wheat $4.65 a bushel compared with $4.27 for 2006." By class USDA's projects hard red winter wheat production up 51 percent at just over one billion bushels; soft red down 11 percent at 347 million. White winter production totals 241 million bushels up seven percent. Of that white production total 18.6 million is hard white and 222 million is soft white. Based on May 1st conditions winter wheat yields in the Pacific Northwest are pegged at 81 bushels an acre in Idaho, up from 77 last year; 60 bushels in Oregon compared to 53 in 2006 and in Washington the estimate is the same as last year at 66 bushels an acre. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.