Cr Pr 2-3 (1-08) Winter Wheat Seedings National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 11, 2008, 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 Up 4 Percent Winter wheat seeded area for 2008 is expected to total 46.6 million acres, up 4 percent from 2007. Approximate class acreage breakdowns are: Hard Red Winter, 32.5 million; Soft Red Winter, 10.5 million; and White Winter, 3.65 million. Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2006-2008 (Domestic Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2008 Item :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2006 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Acres ------------- Percent : Winter : Wheat : 40,575 44,987 46,610 104 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2006-2008 (Metric Units) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2008 Item :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2006 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------------- Hectares ----------------- Percent : Winter : Wheat : 16,420,300 18,205,790 18,862,600 104 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Wheat: Planted area for harvest in 2008 is estimated at 46.6 million acres, up 4 percent from 2007. Seeding began last August behind the 5-year average pace and remained behind until mid-November due to a lack of moisture in the Great Plains during much of the seeding period. 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 completed by the end of December in California. The winter wheat crop condition at the end of November was rated at 44 percent good to excellent compared with 53 percent the previous year. Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is about 32.5 million acres, down 1 percent from 2007. Acreage was below last year's level in all States in the HRW growing area except North Dakota and Montana, where acreage increased 185,000 and 460,000, respectively. The dry fall limited planted acres in some parts of the region with planted area down 500,000 acres in Kansas and down 200,000 in both Oklahoma and Texas. Normal crop rotations also reduced seedings in some States in the region following the large winter wheat crop planted last year. Soft Red Winter (SRW) area, at about 10.5 million acres, is up 21 percent from last year. Large acreage increases from last year occurred in all SRW growing States due largely to strong prices and ideal planting and germination conditions. Planted area increases of 200,000 acres or more are expected in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Record high planted acreage is expected in Wisconsin, while North Carolina is expected to tie the record high set in 1985. White Winter wheat seeded area totals nearly 3.65 million acres, up 7 percent from 2007. Crop conditions varied across the three Pacific Northwest States (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) throughout the fall. Planted acreage in Washington and Oregon is up 30,000 acres each for 2008, with Idaho expecting an increase of 150,000 acres. Seeding began ahead of normal in all three States with some concerns about moisture supplies in Washington going into the winter months. By the first week of November, virtually all fields had been seeded in the region with 89 percent of the acreage emerged in Washington, 76 percent in Idaho, and 60 percent in Oregon. Durum Wheat: Seedings in Arizona and California for 2008 harvest are estimated at 280,000 acres. This total is up 70 percent from their 2007 level. Planting is ongoing in California's San Joaquin and Imperial Valleys as well as western Arizona. Planted acreage is up 60,000 in Arizona and up 55,000 in California due mostly to good prices. No major problems with the crop have been reported. This report was approved on January 11, 2008. Acting Secretary of Agriculture Floyd D. Gaibler Agricultural Statistics Board Chairperson Carol C. House Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2006-2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2008 State :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2006 : 2007 : 2008 : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 Acres ------------- Percent : AL : 100 120 170 142 AZ : 4 6 10 167 AR : 365 820 870 106 CA : 450 500 600 120 CO : 2,150 2,500 2,400 96 DE : 48 57 80 140 FL : 8 13 18 138 GA : 230 360 480 133 ID : 750 750 900 120 IL : 930 1,000 1,200 120 IN : 470 420 550 131 IA : 25 35 50 143 KS : 9,800 10,400 9,900 95 KY : 430 440 530 120 LA : 115 235 400 170 MD : 210 220 250 114 MI : 660 560 780 139 MN : 50 65 70 108 MS : 85 370 400 108 MO : 1,000 1,050 1,200 114 MT : 1,950 2,240 2,700 121 NE : 1,800 2,050 1,950 95 NV : 17 17 11 65 NJ : 25 31 34 110 NM : 440 490 480 98 NY : 105 100 125 125 NC : 560 630 800 127 ND : 200 465 650 140 OH : 990 820 1,020 124 OK : 5,700 5,900 5,700 97 OR : 760 750 780 104 PA : 160 170 180 106 SC : 130 160 170 106 SD : 1,450 2,100 1,900 90 TN : 280 420 620 148 TX : 5,550 6,200 6,000 97 UT : 130 135 130 96 VA : 190 230 280 122 WA : 1,850 1,720 1,750 102 WV : 8 8 12 150 WI : 250 290 330 114 WY : 150 140 130 93 : US : 40,575 44,987 46,610 104 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Durum Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2006-2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Crop Year : 2008 State :--------------------------------------------------: as Pct. of : 2006 : 2007 : 2008 1/ : 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------- 1,000 Acres ------------ Percent : AZ : 75 80 140 175 CA : 70 85 140 165 ID : 15 15 MT : 400 480 ND : 1,300 1,480 SD : 10 9 : US : 1,870 2,149 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Indicated 2008 area seeded for all six States will be published in "Prospective Plantings" released March 31, 2008. 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