U.S. spring wheat crops in northwest and north-central North Dakota are expected to produce lower yields than last year but higher than the five-year average, the Wheat Quality Council said on an annual tour on Wednesday.
Crop scouts estimated the average hard red spring wheat yield at 45.7 bushels per acre after surveying 138 fields on the second day, the tour said. That was down from last year’s day-two tour average of 47.7 bushels and above the five-year average of 38 bushels, excluding 2020 when no tour was held because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grain traders, millers and exporters are monitoring conditions of spring wheat, used in pizza crusts and bagels, after Russia quit the deal that allowed for safe grain exports from Ukraine ports on the Black Sea. Major wheat-growing areas, including Kansas and parts of Canada, have also suffered from drought.
Hot, dry weather has stressed North Dakota fields this year, and crop conditions are variable, wheat growers said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting North Dakota’s spring wheat crop at 255.21 million bushels with an average yield of 47 bushels per acre. In 2022, farmers in the state harvested 263 million bushels and had an average yield of 50 bushels per acre.
Scouts on the first day of the Wheat Quality Council tour on Tuesday projected smaller yields than last year but bigger than the five-year average after checking fields in southern and east-central North Dakota.
“So far, the WQC tour looks optimistic,” Charlie Sernatinger, an analyst at Marex Capital, said before the second-day results were released.
The tour will assess fields in northeast North Dakota on Thursday before releasing a final yield estimate.
Source : Nasdaq
