The National Association of Wheat Growers finds wheat plantings included in the Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report alarming. The recent report anticipates that all wheat plantings will be at 46.1 million acres, which is down eight percent from 2016. For winter wheat specifically, the planted area is estimated at 32.7 million acres, which is down nine percent from last year, but it is one percent higher than the previous estimate. The estimates represent historically low levels of wheat plantings that the Association says the U.S. hasn’t seen “since a time when farmers worked with a horse and plow.” The Association says it is working to communicate the tough economic conditions in wheat country to members of Congress and the Donald Trump Administration. Further, the Association says low prices and the associated low plantings will help to frame the upcoming Farm Bill discussion.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.