Wheat production hits 8-year high in U.S. farms

Oct 07, 2024
By Farms.com

2024/25 estimates show 1.971 billion bushels of wheat

The U.S. wheat production for the 2024/25 marketing year is projected at 1.971 billion bushels, representing a 9% increase from the prior year. This marks the highest output since the 2016/17 marketing year and stands in contrast to a long-standing decline in wheat production, driven largely by farmers transitioning to crops like corn and soybeans for better profitability.

In recent years, wheat acreage has started to recover, fueled by high wheat prices in the fall of 2022, prompting farmers to plant more wheat for the 2023/24 marketing year.

The hard red winter wheat class faced significant challenges due to drought conditions, which impacted the volume of harvestable wheat.

For the upcoming marketing year, despite a projected decrease in total wheat acreage, the weather outlook appears favorable, likely enhancing both the area harvested and yield in comparison to the previous season.

Production forecasts indicate increases for hard red winter, hard red spring, white, and durum wheat classes, all benefiting from improved growing conditions.

In contrast, soft red winter wheat production is anticipated to decrease by 24% compared to the previous year's exceptional harvest, yet it is still expected to surpass the five-year average. These insights are derived from the August 2024 Wheat Outlook, providing updated forecasts that reflect current agricultural trends and challenges.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.