Area wheat seedings down two percent

Statistics are out for wheat seedings for the 2021 crop in the United States.

Washington winter wheat growers seeded an estimated 1.75 million acres of winter wheat for harvest in 2021. This is down three percent from what was seeded last year but unchanged from 2019, according to the USDA's Agricultural Statistics Service.

Idaho growers seeded 740,000 acres of winter wheat for the 2021 crop, up three percent from 2020, and one percent above the 2019 crop. Oregon farmers planted 710,000 acres, down four percent from last year.

Nationally, planted area for harvest in 2021 is estimated at 32 million acres, up five percent from 2020 and up two percent from 2019. This represents the fourth lowest United States wheat acreage on record.

Compared with last year, the largest increases are expected in Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, while the largest acreage decreases are expected in Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio. White Winter wheat seeded area totals 3.48 million acres, down less than one percent from 2020.

Planting throughout the Pacific Northwest was ahead of the five year average throughout most of the planting process. Seeding was virtually complete in the region by early November.