Published 4:00 pm Thursday, April 6, 2023
Northwest farmers will plant more barley this year after many of them shied away from the crop last year, USDA estimates show. The region’s wheat plantings will be down slightly.
According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service prospective plantings report, Oregon barley farmers are expected to seed 40,000 acres, up 11% from last year.
Washington barley acres are estimated at 85,000, up 18% from last year.
Idaho barley acres are estimated at 590,000 acres, up 5% from last year.
“While the percentage increase in expected barley plantings appears large in comparison to last year, we factor in that 2022 had a decline in projected acres,” said Amanda Hoey, Oregon Wheat CEO, citing water challenges. “We had some indication of a few additional barley plantings in ground coming out of (the Conservation Reserve Program), which would account for a few new acres, and then some expectation on increase with spring planting.”
The estimated 2023 barley acreage in Washington returned to the five-year average, following the lowest planted acreage on record last year, said Casey Chumrau, executive director of the Washington Grain Commission.
Total U.S. barley acreage is expected to be 2.92 million acres, down 1% from 2022.
Idaho and Oregon wheat acres are expected to slightly increase, while Washington acreage will shrink.
Idaho farmers will plant 1.2 million acres of wheat, up 3% from 2022. Winter wheat is at 770,000 acres, unchanged from last year. Spring wheat is expected to be 420,000 acres, up 10.5% from 380,000 acres last year.
Oregon winter wheat is estimated at 750,000 acres, up 3% from 2022.
Washington is expected to have 2.24 million total acres, down 4% from last year. Winter wheat is expected to total 1.80 million acres, down 3%, and spring wheat is 440,000 acres, down 7%.
Nationally, wheat acres are expected to total 49.9 million acres, up 9% from 2022. Winter wheat acres are projected at 37.5 million acres, up 13% from 2022, and spring wheat at 10.6 million acres, down 2% from 2022.
Durum wheat in the U.S. is estimated at 1.78 million acres, up 9% from last year. Durum wheat acres in Idaho are estimated at 5,000, down 29% from last year.
Washington farmers are expected to plant 160,000 acres of corn, up 23% from 2022.
Idaho growers are likely to plant 390,000 acres, up 22% from last year.
Oregon is expected to plant 85,000 acres, up 13% from last year.
“Corn acres have been increasing steadily over the past several years in Idaho,” said Britany Hurst Marchant, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. “It is not surprising to see an uptick in irrigated acres planted to corn as corn yields increase due to new, genetically modified varieties and an increase in prices driven, in part, by ethanol and feed demand.”
An improved water situation in some irrigated areas now offers other options beyond wheat, Hoey said.
“The combined factors of the options expanded with better precipitation in the last few months and price for corn tracks with the increased acreage,” she said.
Corn acres in the U.S. are expected to total 92 million, up 4% from last year.
