USDA: Wheat Acreage Continues To Drop

According to the USDA, wheat acreage planted for the 2020 harvest is expected to total 30.8 million acres, down 1% from last year and down 5% from 2018.  Acting World Outlook Board Chair Mark Jekanowski said that continues the downward trend of wheat acreage dating back 50 years.

"Over that period of time, farmers have found that corn and soy beans are much more profitable as long as they are in areas that can produce corn and soy beans. And seed genetics have advanced over that time, especially for corn and soy beans allowing, for example, for both corn and soy beans to be grown up in the Dakotas and further west."

Jekanowski noted at the same time, international competitors are also having their impact on American planting decisions.

"Wheat production, globally, has shifted more to the Black Sea area, to Russia, to other places where they are a little bit more cost-competitive in producing wheat."

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