According to the June 9 United States Department of Agriculture’s Crop Production Report, winter wheat production is forecast at 1.14 billion bushels – up 1% from the May 1 forecast and up 3% from 2022.
As of June 1, U.S. yield is forecast at 44.9 bushels per acre, up 0.2 bushels from May but down 2.1 bushels from last year’s average yield.
At 525 million bushels, Hard Red Winter production is up 2% from last month. At 402 million bushels, Soft Red Winter is down 1%. At 209 million bushels, White Winter is down 1%. The White Winter production consists of 199 million Soft White bushels and 10.3 million Hard White bushels.
According to the Drought Monitor, Kansas is experiencing the worst drought and has the highest percentage of poorly rated rangeland and pastures. Because 57% of the state is experiencing drought at an exceptional or extreme level, 51% of the farmland is rated poor to very poor. On May 28, nearly 70% of the winter wheat in Kansas was rated in poor to very poor condition. The spring rainfall came too late in the season to provide any benefit. Slightly more than half (51%) of Nebraska’s winter wheat was rated poorly, followed by Texas with 40%.
According to the report, winter wheat production in Oklahoma is forecast at 53.8 million bushels, which is down 22.6% from 2022 production at 68.6 million bushels. As of June 1, Oklahoma’s yield is forecast at 25 bushels per acre, up two bushels from last month but down three bushels from last year’s average of 28 bushels per acre. Oklahoma is forecasted to harvest 2.2 million acres of winter wheat in 2023, down from the 2022 area harvested of 2.5 million acres.
Kansas winter wheat production is forecast at 191.4 million bushels, down 21.6% from 2022 production at 244.2 million bushels, the report states. As of June 1, the Kansas yield is forecast at 29 bushels per acre, but down 8 bushels from last year’s average of 37 bushels per acre. Kansas is forecasted to harvest 6.6 million acres of winter wheat in 2023.
Texas winter wheat production is forecast at 60 million bushels, up 35% from 2022 production at 39 million bushels, the report noted. As of June 1, the Texas winter wheat yield is forecast at 30 bushels per acre, up 2 bushels from last month. Texas is forecasted to harvest 2 million acres of winter wheat in 2023, up significantly from 2022 harvested acres of 1.3 million acres.
For more details, view the full USDA Crop Production Report at www.usda.gov.