Winter Wheat Plantings Slide 5%

WASHINGTON - Jan 12/15 - SNS -- Farmers in the United States planted 5% less winter wheat this year, with the USDA pegging land in all classes at 40.5 million acres.

Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is expected to be 29.5 million acres, down 3% from 2014. Acreage changes from last year are mixed across the growing region. Growers in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas planted significantly less acreage this year while large acreage increases are estimated in Nebraska and South Dakota. Record low acreage was seeded in Utah. By November 23, Hard Red Winter wheat conditions were varied across States from last year with most acreage rated in fair to good condition.

Soft Red Winter (SRW) wheat seeded area is about 7.50 million acres, down 12% from last year. Acreage decreases from last year are expected in most SRW growing States with significant acreage decreases estimated in Illinois and Missouri.

White Winter wheat seeded area totals nearly 3.48 million acres, up 2% from 2014. Planted acreage in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, and Washington) are up from last year. Planting got off to a normal start but by the middle of October progress was behind the 5-year average pace in Idaho and Washington. By November 9, seeding was virtually complete in the region.