REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Winter wheat production is expected to decline this year due to lower yields on fewer acres harvested than in 2013, according to the latest report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
NASS reports Ohio wheat growers expect to harvest 580,000 acres, down 85,000 acres from last year.
Wheat production in the state is expected to be 38.3 million bushels, with a yield forecast of 66 bushels, or 4 bushels below the previous year.
National picture
U.S. winter wheat production is forecast at 1.40 billion bushels, down 9 percent from 2013.
As of May 1, the United States yield is forecast at 43.1 bushels per acre, down 4.3 bushels from last year.
Good year for hay
Hay stocks on Ohio farms on May 1, 2014, were 275,000 tons, up 96% from this time last year.
May 1, 2014, stocks were nearly double the same time last year, due to a 2013 hay crop that was significantly larger than the 2012 crop.
All hay stored on United States farms May 1, 2014, totaled 19.2 million tons, up 35 percent from a year ago.
This is the third lowest May 1 stocks level since 1989.
Hay disappearance from Dec. 1, 2013, through May 1 totaled 70.1 million tons, compared with 62.4 million tons for the same period a year earlier.
