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U.S. wheat harvest is better than expected

The National Association of Wheat Growers says this year’s winter wheat harvest has exceeded expectations despite lower production estimates.

Jake Westlin tells Brownfield most of the crop in Kansas and the Southern Plains has been cut and yields are trending higher. “A little bit of an improvement and I don’t think it’s where it was last year, but it is a little bit of an improvement than what our expectations initially were.” 

USDA is forecasting an average yield of 48 bushels per acre – a decline of about 2 bushels per acre from 2021.

Westlin says about 10 percent of the crop was predicted to be abandoned because of drought. “But, I think it might be a little bit down from what our initial estimates were, but it’s still higher than the average.”  

He says harvest is underway in Nebraska and Colorado and should begin soon in the Dakotas.