Idaho growers seeded 780,000 acres of winter wheat for the 2016 crop, up 4 percent from 2015, and unchanged from the 2014 crop. Oregon farmers planted 710,000 acres, down 4 percent from the 2015 crop and down 5 percent from 2014. Washington winter wheat growers seeded an estimated 1.7 million acres of winter wheat for harvest in 2016, up 3 percent from the area seeded in 2015 and unchanged from 2014.
Nationally, planted area for harvest in 2016 is estimated at 36.6 million acres, down 7 percent from the 2015 crop and 14 percent below 2014. Seeding began in early September and remained at or behind the 5-year average seeding pace through the middle of November when seeding was mostly complete.
Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is expected to be 26.5 million acres, down 9 percent from 2015. Planted acreage is down from last year across most of the growing region. The largest declines in planted acreage are estimated in the Great Plains States. Record low acreage was seeded in Nebraska.
Soft Red Winter (SRW) wheat seeded area is about 6.72 million acres, down 5 percent from last year. Acreage decreases from last year are estimated in most southern SRW growing States, while most of the States in the northern half of the region seeded more acres than in 2015. Record low acreage was seeded in New Jersey
White Winter wheat seeded area total nearly 3.43 million acres, up 1 percent from 2015. Planting in the Pacific Northwest got off to a normal start, but by the middle of October, progress was behind the 5-year average pace in Idaho and Washington. By November 9, seeding was virtually complete in the region.