Amid Low Prices, USDA Projects Smaller Wheat Crop

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. farmers are expected to produce 1.25 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, according to the Crop Production report released Tuesday by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In the first winter wheat production forecast for 2020, production is expected to decrease by 4 percent from 2019. As of May 1, the U.S. yield is expected to average 51.7 bushels per acre, down 1.9 bushels from last year’s average of 53.6 bushels per acre. Record yields are expected in California and Montana. Hard Red Winter production is forecast at 733 million bushels, down 12 percent from a year ago. Soft Red Winter, at 298 million bushels, is expected to increase 24 percent from 2019. White Winter, at 224 million bushels, is down 3 percent from last year.