Cr Pr 2-3 (1-09) 

Washington, D.C.

Winter Wheat 

Seedings

Released January 12, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture. For information on Winter Wheat Seedings call Todd Ballard at (202) 720-8068, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. 

Planted Acres Down 9 Percent

Winter wheat seeded area for 2009 is expected to total 42.1 million acres, down 9 percent from 2008. 

Approximate class acreage breakdowns are: Hard Red Winter, 30.2 million; Soft Red Winter, 

8.29 million; and White Winter, 3.62 million. 

Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2007-2009 

(Domestic Units) 

Crop Year 

Item 

2007 2008 2009 

2009 

as Pct. of 

2008 

1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres Percent 

Winter 

 Wheat 45,012 46,281 42,098 91

Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, United States, 2007-2009 

(Metric Units) 

Crop Year 

Item 

2007 2008 2009 

2009 

as Pct. of 

2008 

Hectares Hectares Hectares Percent 

Winter 

 Wheat 18,215,910 18,729,460 17,036,640 91
 

Winter Wheat Seedings Agricultural Statistics Board 

January 2009 2 NASS, USDA 

Winter Wheat: Planted area for harvest in 2009 is estimated at 42.1 million acres, down 9 percent 

from 2008. Seeding began last August behind the 5-year average pace and remained behind until 

mid-November due to wet weather and delayed row crop harvest. Nearly all of the U.S. acreage was 

seeded by December 1 with the exception of some intended acres in the Southeast and California. 

Seeding was complete by the end of December in California. The winter wheat crop condition at the 

end of November was rated 65 percent good to excellent compared with 44 percent the previous year. 

Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat seeded area is about 30.2 million acres, down 4 percent from 2008. 

Acreage is below last year=s level in all States in the HRW growing area except Colorado and Texas, 

where acreage increased 250,000 and 100,000, respectively. The late row crop harvest and lower prices 

limited planted acres in most parts of the region with planted area down 600,000 acres in Kansas and 

down 200,000 in Oklahoma. Abandonment of several thousand acres of cotton in Texas allowed for 

increased winter wheat acres. Colorado producers had good planting conditions along with normal 

summer fallow rotation allowing for an increase in planted acres over 2008. 

Soft Red Winter (SRW) area, at about 8.29 million acres, is down 26 percent from last year. Large 

acreage decreases from last year occurred in all SRW growing States due largely to the late row crop 

harvest, high input costs, and the fall in wheat prices. Planted area decreased 350,000 acres or more in 

Arkansas, Illinois, and Missouri. 

White Winter wheat seeded area totals nearly 3.62 million acres, up 1 percent from 2008. Crop 

conditions varied across the three Pacific Northwest States (Idaho, Oregon, and Washington) throughout 

the fall. All winter wheat planted area is down 10,000 acres in Washington, down 110,000 acres in 

Idaho, and unchanged from last year in Oregon. Seeding began ahead of normal in Idaho and Oregon 

with Washington lagging behind for most of the planting season. By the first week of November, 

virtually all fields had been seeded in the region with 71 percent of the acreage emerged in Washington, 

73 percent in Idaho, and 40 percent in Oregon. 

Durum Wheat: Seedings in Arizona and California for 2009 harvest are estimated at 270,000 acres. 

This total is down 16 percent from the 2008 level. Planting is ongoing in California's San Joaquin and 

Imperial Valleys as well as western Arizona. Planted acreage is down 40,000 in Arizona and down 

10,000 in California. No major problems with the crop have been reported. 

This report was approved on January 12, 2009. 

Acting Secretary of 

Agriculture 

Charles F. Conner 

Agricultural Statistics Board 

Chairperson 

Carol C. House 
 

Winter Wheat Seedings Agricultural Statistics Board 

January 2009 3 NASS, USDA 

Winter Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2007-2009 

Crop Year 

State 

2007 2008 2009 

2009 

as Pct. of 

2008 

1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres Percent 

AL 

AZ 

AR 

CA 

CO 

DE 

FL 

GA 

ID 

IL 

IN 

IA 

KS 

KY 

LA 

MD 

MI 

MN 

MS 

MO 

MT 

NE 

NV 

NJ 

NM 

NY 

NC 

ND 

OH 

OK 

OR 

PA 

SC 

SD 

TN 

TX 

UT 

VA 

WA 

WV 

WI 

WY 

US 

120 

6 

820 

550 

2,500 

57 

13 

360 

750 

1,000 

420 

35 

10,400 

440 

235 

220 

550 

65 

370 

1,050 

2,240 

2,050 

17 

31 

490 

100 

630 

465 

820 

5,900 

735 

170 

160 

2,100 

420 

6,200 

135 

230 

1,720 

8 

290 

140 

45,012 

240 

13 

1,070 

650 

2,150 

80 

25 

480 

850 

1,200 

580 

40 

9,600 

580 

400 

255 

730 

75 

520 

1,250 

2,600 

1,750 

12 

35 

430 

130 

820 

630 

1,120 

5,600 

780 

195 

220 

2,050 

620 

5,800 

130 

310 

1,750 

11 

350 

150 

46,281

240 

7 

420 

670 

2,400 

80 

22 

340 

740 

850 

470 

30 

9,000 

490 

260 

230 

570 

45 

260 

800 

2,500 

1,700 

13 

32 

410 

115 

670 

530 

1,020 

5,400 

780 

195 

160 

1,750 

380 

5,900 

130 

270 

1,740 

9 

320 

150 

42,098 

100 

54 

39 

103 

112 

100 

88 

71 

87 

71 

81 

75 

94 

84 

65 

90 

78 

60 

50 

64 

96 

97 

108 

91 

95 

88 

82 

84 

91 

96 

100 

100 

73 

85 

61 

102 

100 

87 

99 

82 

91 

100 

91
 

Winter Wheat Seedings Agricultural Statistics Board 

January 2009 4 NASS, USDA 

Durum Wheat: Area Seeded, by State and United States, 2007-2009 

Crop Year 

State 

2007 2008 2009 1

2009 

as Pct. of 

2008 

1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres 1,000 Acres Percent 

AZ 

CA 

ID 

MT 

ND 

SD 

US 

83 

90 

15 

480 

1,480 

8 

2,156 

150 

170 

10 

590 

1,800 

11 

2,731 

110 

160 

73 

94 

1

 Indicated 2009 area seeded for all six States will be published in "Prospective Plantings" released March 31, 2009. 
 

 

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