U.S. Wheat Acreage to Fall to Lowest in a Century, Russia, Ukraine to Increase
Falling global prices, a strong dollar, and strengthening rival suppliers are driving U.S. wheat farmers to plant the smallest acreage in over a century this fall.
INTL FCStone forecasts that acreage of hard red winter wheat (the majority class for the U.S.) will decline by about five percent from last year, which itself was the lowest acreage since 1913. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue its official planting estimate in January.
In Kansas, the top U.S. wheat producing state, prices have fallen to $3 per bushel as grain stocks pile up, and in the number two state of Oklahoma, farmers could lose $55 per acre for wheat in 2017 according to experts at Oklahoma State University.
Meanwhile, Russia is set to see a year on year increase in wheat acreage of six percent to 17.35 million hectares due to positive margins in rubles, and Ukraine will likely see winter wheat acreage of 6.5 million hectares. This increase in planting will project Russia to surpass the U.S. and the EU to become the top wheat exporter in the world for the 2016/17 season ending on June 1, 2017.
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