Crop planting intentions in Washington
Washington Ag Today April 1, 2010 Farmers are busy planting spring crops and the Washington Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported yesterday on what the state’s growers say their seeding and how much. The Statistics Service’s Linda Simpson provides some details including an update on winter wheat plantings last fall. Simpson: “Winter wheat planted for harvest this summer is estimated 1.7 million acres, three percent above last year and unchanged from the planted area two years ago. Field corn is up 21% from last year and the highest level since 1984. Dry bean acreage is expected to be up 25% from 2009 with large chickpea acreage almost doubling since last year. Barley acreage continues to decline and at 90-thousand acres are at the lowest level since 1952.” Washington farmers say the intend to plant 540-thousand acres of spring wheat this year, which would be a decline of eight percent from 2009. If farmers do as they say the state’s hay acreage will be down one percent, dry pea plantings down 18 percent and lentil acreage down 13 percent. Growers can still change their spring cropping plans. What is really planted will be reported in June. Abundant supplies have kept the pressure on wheat prices and the USDA also reported Wednesday that wheat stocks in Washington as of March 1st totaled slightly over 75 million bushels, which is 15 percent above last March. Nationally, wheat stocks were up 30 percent from March of last year. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network. ?
