Idaho Winter Wheat Seedings Up 12 Percent

Idaho’s winter wheat seeded area for the 2011 crop is estimated at 840,000 acres, up 12 percent from the 750,000 acres seeded for the 2010 crop, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Nationally, winter wheat planted area for harvest in 2011 is estimated at 41.0 million acres, up 10 percent from 2010 but 5 percent below 2009. Seeding began last August and during September was slightly behind the 5-year average. During October, seeding progressed slightly ahead of the 5-year average. More acres were seeded this year due to the early row crop harvest and higher prices. The winter wheat crop condition at the end of November was rated 47 percent good to excellent compared with 63 percent the previous year. Approximate class acreage breakdowns are: Hard Red Winter, 29.6 million, up 4 percent from 2010; Soft Red Winter, 7.76 million, up 47 percent from the previous year; and White Winter, 3.66 million, up 4 percent from 2010.