Smaller Wheat Crop in United States

WASHINGTON - Sep 30/14 - SNS -- Winter wheat production for 2014 totaled 1.38 billion bushels, down 11% from the revised 2013 total, according to the USDA's latest crop production estimates.

The United States yield, at 42.6 bushels per acre, is down 4.7 bushels from 2013. Area harvested for grain is estimated at 32.3 million acres, down 1% from the previous year.

Planted acres were up from 2013 in most of the major Hard Red Winter (HRW) growing States. Particularly large acreage increases occurred in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Conversely, Oklahoma and Texas had large decreases in planted acres from the previous year. Harvested acres were up across the HRW region, with large increases in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. A record high yield is estimated in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Nationally, HRW production totaled 738 million bushels, down 1% from 2013.

In the Soft Red Winter (SRW) growing area, planted and harvested acreage decreases from 2013 were experienced throughout the region. Record high yields were realized in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. SRW production totaled 455 million bushels, down 20% from 2013.

White winter production totaled 184 million bushels, down 19% from the previous year. Harvested acreage in the Pacific Northwest (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) was below what was harvested in 2013. Yields were also down from last year in all Pacific Northwest States.