Winter wheat production in Montana is forecast at 81.60 million bushels

Winter wheat production in Montana, based on conditions as of May 1, 2017, is forecast at 81.60 million bushels, according to the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. This forecast is 23 percent below last year’s production of 105.35 million bushels and 10 percent below the 91.02 million bushel crop produced two years ago. Acreage for harvest, forecast at 1.70 million acres, is 450,000 acres less than a year ago. Average yield is forecast at 48.0 bushels per acre, down 1.0 bushel per acre from last year’s yield. As of April 30, Montana’s winter wheat crop condition was rated 1 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 32 percent fair, 48 percent good, and 15 percent excellent, compared with 1 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 30 percent fair, 50 percent good, and 15 percent excellent last year. Hay stocks on Montana farms and ranches as of May 1, 2017 totaled 870,000 tons, down 15 percent from stocks of 1.03 million tons on hand last year. Hay production for 2016 was 5.13 million tons, 10 percent higher than 2015 production. Disappearance from December 1, 2016 to May 1, 2017 was 3.23 million tons, compared with 2.68 million tons the same period a year earlier.