Wheat plantings to fall to second-lowest acreage on record: USDA

Planted winter wheat in the US is to fall to the second-lowest total on record, according to the USDA’s Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings report released Friday.

Planted area forecast for all winter wheat in 2018 will fall 0.3% on year, coming in at 32.61 million acres (13.2 million hectares).

The lowest area was seen at 29.2 million acres in 1909, the year when records first began.

Hard Red Winter wheat area is expected to total 23.1 million acres, 2% lower than last year.

According to the USDA, the biggest decreases will come in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Record low acreages are set to be seen in Nebraska and Utah.

Soft Red Winter wheat is expected on 5.98 million acres, 4% higher year-on-year.

Acreage is forecast to be higher in most SRW-growing states, with decreases seen in the Delta Region, most of the Northeast of the country, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Record low planted area is expected to be seen in Louisiana, New Jersey, and West Virginia.

White Winter wheat is forecast to rise 1% to 3.56 million acres.

The immediate market impact of the wheat seedings report was difficult to ascertain, with a bearish monthly supply and demand report released simultaneously by the USDA.

Nonetheless, the price of wheat was slashed on the major US exchanges.

Wheat prices plummeted over 3.5% on the major US exchange contracts in the immediate aftermath of the data release, with the front month Chicago SRW contract falling 15.25 cents to a low of $4.2025/bu.