Winter wheat yields down slightly

WASHINGTON — Indiana and Illinois wheat yield averages were down slightly from record highs set in 2023, while a record oats yield was projected in the Prairie State.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2024 small grains summary, released Sept. 30, had an Illinois winter wheat yield average at 86 bushels per acre, 1 bushel below last year’s record and 7 higher than 2022.

The Prairie State’s production totaled 60.2 million bushels compared to 67.86 million in 2023. Harvested acres of 700,000 this year were down 80,000 from the previous year.

Illinois’ average oats yield hit a record 93 bushels per acre across 17,000 harvested acres for total production of 1.581 million bushels, up 51,000 bushels from last year’s previous record average of 90 bushels per acre.

Indiana winter wheat averaged 89 bushels per acre, down 3 from the 2023 record and 8 higher than in 2022. Indiana had 240,000 harvested wheat acres, 95,000 below 2023, for total production of 21.36 million bushels after hitting 30.82 million the previous year.

All Wheat

All wheat production in the U.S. totaled 1.97 billion bushels in 2024, up 9% from the 2023 total of 1.80 billion bushels. Area harvested for grain totaled 38.5 million acres, a 4% increase from the previous year.

The all wheat average yield in the nation was estimated at 51.2 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushels from the previous year.

Winter Wheat Nationwide

U.S. winter wheat production for 2024 totaled 1.35 billion bushels, up 9% from the 2023 total of 1.24 billion bushels in comparable states, with an average yield of 51.7 bushels per acre, 1.1 bushels higher than last year.

Area harvested for winter wheat grain was estimated at 26.1 million acres, 6% above 2023.

Record winter wheat high yields were estimated in Missouri (75 bushels per acre), South Dakota (63), and Wisconsin (82) for 2024.

Compared with 2023, harvested acreage was up 17% in the major hard red winter growing states, the primary winter wheat-producing area. HRW production totaled 770 million bushels, up 29% from 2023.

In the soft red winter growing area, harvested acreage decreased 20% from 2023 in comparable states. SRW production totaled 342 million bushels, down 23% from 2023.

U.S. Oats

Oats production in 2024 was estimated at 67.8 million bushels, up 23% from 2023. Yield was estimated at a U.S. record high 76.5 bushels per acre, up 7.7 bushels from the previous year. Harvested area, at 886 thousand acres, was 11% above 2023.

Record high yields for oats were also estimated in Kansas (66 bushels per acre), Minnesota (88) and North Dakota (98).