Market News & Headlines >> U.S. Winter Wheat Seedings Seen Rising

USDA on Wednesday morning is expected to report that U.S. producers have increased winter wheat seedings for a second straight year when it releases its first estimate of winter wheat seedings for 2022 harvest in Wednesday morning’s Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings report.

Producers are thought to have boosted seedings amid the highest U.S. wheat prices in years and favorable planting conditions last fall across much of the U.S. HRW wheat belt and in Midwest SRW wheat growing areas. Drought conditions in the northern Plains and the Pacific Northwest, however, may have limited seedings there.

Pre-report trade estimates of U.S. winter wheat seedings average 34.27 million acres in a range from 33.30-35.60 million acres compared with last year’s final seedings estimate of 33.65 million acres and the initial January 2021 estimate of only 31.99 million acres.

Trade estimates of U.S. HRW wheat seedings average 24.03 million acres in a range from 23.20-24.97 million compared with last year’s final area of 23.5 million acres. Pre-report expectations for SRW wheat seedings average 6.55 million acres, down marginally from last year, in a range from 5.79-7.00 million. Expectations for white winter wheat seedings average 3.60 million acres, up less than 100,000 versus last year, in a range from 3.45-4.00 million.

Last year’s increase in winter wheat seedings ended a string of seven consecutive yearly declines in seedings.