Pacific Northwest farmers expect to plant slightly more wheat and corn, and slightly less barley and hay this year, according to USDA’s prospective plantings report.

Washington farmers will plant 2.35 million acres this year, up 2.4% from 2.3 million acres in 2024. Winter wheat is estimated to be 1.85 million acres, up 2.8% from 1.8 million acres the previous year. Spring wheat is estimated at 500,000 acres, up 11% from 450,000 acres.

Idaho farmers will plant 1.19 million acres of wheat, down 1.7% from 1.21 million acres in 2024. Winter acres are up, at 790,000 acres, a 3.9% increase from 760,000 acres in 2024. The decline comes in spring wheat, with 400,000 acres projected, an 11% decrease from 450,000 acres the year before.

“Nothing alarming or out of the ordinary for typical variations in Idaho,” said Britany Hurst Marchant, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission.
Idaho wheat acres fluctuate slightly every year depending on crop rotations, the amount of winter wheat planted in the fall and some economic factors, “but planted acres remain steady overall.”

Oregon farmers will plant 750,000 acres of winter wheat, up 1.4% from 740,000 acres in 2024. Spring wheat is negligible in Oregon.

Essentially unchanged acreage in Oregon would be expected because “we are so heavily planted in winter wheat,” said Amanda Hoey, Oregon Wheat CEO. With most acreage in dryland production, “it lines up with a fairly level planted area over time.”

Overall, the region will plant about 4.3 million acres, up nearly 1.1% from nearly 4.25 million acres in 2024, according to the report

Nationwide, wheat acres are projected at 45.4 million acres, down 1.6% from 46.1 million acres.

“That’s not surprising given the challenging ag economy with high input costs and low market prices, as well as the dynamics of where wheat is positioned related to other crops,” Oregon’s Hoey said. “We have been losing acreage over time, even as we make gains from research investments and production practices into the amount that can be produced on a given acre.”

Barley

Barley in Washington dropped 15%, from 80,000 acres in 2024 to 68,000 acres.

Idaho barley acreage was unchanged, at 530,000 acres.
Barley in Oregon dropped slightly, from 31,000 acres last year to 30,000 acres, a 3.2% decline.

The region saw a 2.1% decline, from 641,000 acres last year to 628,000 acres.
Nationwide, barley acres declined 2.4%, from 2.37 million acres to 2.32 million acres

Corn

The Pacific Northwest saw a 6.1% increase in corn acres planted, from 655,000 acres to 695,000 acres.

Corn acreage in Idaho increased by 10.5%, from 380,000 acres to 420,000 acres.
Corn also increased in Oregon, from 100,000 acres to 105,000 acres, a 5% increase.

Corn declined slightly in Washington, from 175,000 acres to 170,000 a 2.9% decline.
Nationally, corn increased from nearly 91 million acres to 95.3 million acres, a 5.2% bump.

Hay

Hay harvested in the Pacific Northwest dropped by 3.2%, from 2.8 million acres to 2.71 million acres.
Idaho hay acres dropped by 4%, from 1.25 million acres to 1.2 million acres.
In Oregon, hay declined 3.2%, from 930,000 acres to 900,000 acres.
Washington hay acres dropped from 620,000 acres to 610,000 acres, a 1.6% decline.
Nationwide, hay dropped 1.8% from 49.4 million acres to 48.5 million acres.