Cr Pr 2-3 (1-09) Winter Wheat Seedings National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 12, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Winter Wheat Seedings" call Todd Ballard at (202) 720-8068, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Planted Acres Down 9 Percent Winter wheat seeded area for 2009 is expected to total 42.1 million acres, down 9 percent from 2008. Approximate class acreage breakdowns are: Hard Red Winter, 30.2 million; Soft Red Winter, 8.29 million; and White Winter, 3.62 million. Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2007-2009 (Domestic Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2009 Item :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2007 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Acres ------------- Percent : Winter : Wheat : 45,012 46,281 42,098 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2007-2009 (Metric Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2009 Item :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2007 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------------- Hectares ----------------- Percent : Winter : Wheat : 18,215,910 18,729,460 17,036,640 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Wheat: Planted area for harvest in 2009 is estimated at 42.1 million acres, down 9 percent from 2008. Seeding began last August behind the 5-year average pace and remained behind until mid-November due to wet weather and delayed row crop harvest. Nearly all of the U.S. acreage was seeded by December 1 with the exception of some intended acres in the Southeast and California. Seeding was complete by the end of December in California. The winter wheat crop condition at the end of November was rated 65 percent good to excellent compared with 44 percent the previous year. Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is about 30.2 million acres, down 4 percent from 2008. Acreage is below last year=s level in all States in the HRW growing area except Colorado and Texas, where acreage increased 250,000 and 100,000, respectively. The late row crop harvest and lower prices limited planted acres in most parts of the region with planted area down 600,000 acres in Kansas and down 200,000 in Oklahoma. Abandonment of several thousand acres of cotton in Texas allowed for increased winter wheat acres. Colorado producers had good planting conditions along with normal summer fallow rotation allowing for an increase in planted acres over 2008. Soft Red Winter (SRW) area, at about 8.29 million acres, is down 26 percent from last year. Large acreage decreases from last year occurred in all SRW growing States due largely to the late row crop harvest, high input costs, and the fall in wheat prices. Planted area decreased 350,000 acres or more in Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. White Winter wheat seeded area totals nearly 3.62 million acres, up 1 percent from 2008. Crop conditions varied across the three Pacific Northwest States (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) throughout the fall. All winter wheat planted area is down 10,000 acres in Washington, down 110,000 acres in Idaho, and unchanged from last year in Oregon. Seeding began ahead of normal in Idaho and Oregon with Washington lagging behind for most of the planting season. By the first week of November, virtually all fields had been seeded in the region with 71 percent of the acreage emerged in Washington, 73 percent in Idaho, and 40 percent in Oregon. Durum Wheat: Seedings in Arizona and California for 2009 harvest are estimated at 270,000 acres. This total is down 16 percent from the 2008 level. Planting is ongoing in California's San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys as well as western Arizona. Planted acreage is down 40,000 in Arizona and down 10,000 in California. No major problems with the crop have been reported. This report was approved on January 12, 2009. Acting Secretary of Agriculture Charles F. Conner Agricultural Statistics Board Chairperson Carol C. House Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2007-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2009 State :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2007 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Acres ------------- Percent : AL : 120 240 240 100 AZ : 6 13 7 54 AR : 820 1,070 420 39 CA : 550 650 670 103 CO : 2,500 2,150 2,400 112 DE : 57 80 80 100 FL : 13 25 22 88 GA : 360 480 340 71 ID : 750 850 740 87 IL : 1,000 1,200 850 71 IN : 420 580 470 81 IA : 35 40 30 75 KS : 10,400 9,600 9,000 94 KY : 440 580 490 84 LA : 235 400 260 65 MD : 220 255 230 90 MI : 550 730 570 78 MN : 65 75 45 60 MS : 370 520 260 50 MO : 1,050 1,250 800 64 MT : 2,240 2,600 2,500 96 NE : 2,050 1,750 1,700 97 NV : 17 12 13 108 NJ : 31 35 32 91 NM : 490 430 410 95 NY : 100 130 115 88 NC : 630 820 670 82 ND : 465 630 530 84 OH : 820 1,120 1,020 91 OK : 5,900 5,600 5,400 96 OR : 735 780 780 100 PA : 170 195 195 100 SC : 160 220 160 73 SD : 2,100 2,050 1,750 85 TN : 420 620 380 61 TX : 6,200 5,800 5,900 102 UT : 135 130 130 100 VA : 230 310 270 87 WA : 1,720 1,750 1,740 99 WV : 8 11 9 82 WI : 290 350 320 91 WY : 140 150 150 100 : US : 45,012 46,281 42,098 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Durum Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2007-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2009 State :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2007 : 2008 : 2009 1/ : 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------- 1,000 Acres ------------ Percent : AZ : 83 150 110 73 CA : 90 170 160 94 ID : 15 10 MT : 480 590 ND : 1,480 1,800 SD : 8 11 : US : 2,156 2,731 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Indicated 2009 area seeded for all six States will be published in "Prospective Plantings" released March 31, 2009. 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