U.S. winter wheat health among worst ever, yield prospects dicey

Published Apr 7, 2022

Tridge summary

The U.S. winter wheat crop is expected to have a poor performance due to a historically dry winter in key production states, with only 30% of the crop in good or excellent condition as of April 3, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is significantly below trade expectations and the previous year's figure. The dry conditions are expected to result in disappointing final yields, which is of concern given the current high global wheat prices following the conflict in Russia and Ukraine, and the already tight supply situation. The situation is further complicated by the expectation of drier than normal conditions in the Southern Plains during the critical April rainfall period, due to La Nina conditions expected to persist into the summer.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The U.S. winter wheat crop has emerged from dormancy in miserable condition following a historically dry winter in key production states, almost guaranteeing that the harvest will not rank among the country’s better ones. The timing is not great since tensions in the wheat market are running high. Global wheat prices hit record levels last month after war broke out among top exporters Russia and Ukraine, and that came on the heels of an already-tight supply situation. The United States is also among the world’s leading suppliers of wheat. The U.S. Department of Agriculture late on Monday said 30% of U.S. winter wheat was in good or excellent condition as of April 3, well below the trade expectation for 40% and the year-ago 53%. That was the agency’s first national assessment of wheat conditions since late November. Crop health has rarely been this poor in early April. Only 27% of winter wheat in 1996 was good or excellent within the first 10 days of the month, and 2018 was close ...

Source: Hellenic Shipping News