MarketsFarm — Early indications point to a much larger spring wheat crop in the United States in 2022 compared to the drought-stricken 2021 crop despite the late seeding, according to the latest production estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In USDA’s first official production estimates of the growing season breaking out the different wheat classes, spring wheat production in the country is forecast at 13.69 million tonnes, ushels, which would be up by 52 per cent from 2021. Durum production is forecast to come in at 2.1 million tonnes — roughly double the 2021 crop.
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The latest condition ratings place the U.S. spring wheat crop at 70 per cent good to excellent as of July 10, which would be well above the 16 per cent reading at the same time a year ago.
Meanwhile, harvest operations for winter wheat are well underway, with the latest USDA estimate placing total winter wheat production in the country in 2022 at 32.68 million tonnes. That would be down from the 34.76 million tonnes grown the previous year as increases in soft red and soft white production were more than offset by a decline in hard red winter wheat.
Total wheat production in the country including all classes is forecast at 48.47 million tonnes, which would be up slightly from the June forecast and compares with 44.79 million tonnes grown in 2021.
USDA also updated its world production numbers, lowering the forecast for the 2022-23 crop to 771.6 million tonnes, from 773.4 million in June. That would compare with 779 million in 2021-22.
Of the total, Ukraine’s expected wheat production was lowered to 19.5 million tonnes, which would be down by two million from the June estimate and well off 2021’s 31 million tonne Ukrainian wheat crop.
— Phil Franz-Warkentin reports for MarketsFarm from Winnipeg.
