Market News & Headlines >> Low Seedings Limit Downside for Wheat Prices

The lowest U.S. winter wheat seedings in 108 years should raise the price floor under the wheat market and make wheat futures more sensitive to U.S. weather this spring, but the upside for prices remains limited by huge U.S. and world supplies. 

USDA’s Jan. 12 winter wheat seedings report pegged U.S. all-winter-wheat seedings for 2017 harvest at just 32,383 million acres, down 10.4% from 36.137 million acres a year earlier and the lowest since U.S. producers seeded only 29.196 million acres in 1909. 

The largest declines in seeded acreage were in the Plains HRW wheat growing states. Seedings of HRW wheat for 2017 harvest were pegged by USDA at approximately 23.300 million acres, down 3.200 million acres or 12.1% from 26.500 million a year earlier, with record low seedings in Nebraska. 

Seedings of SRW wheat were put by USDA at approximately 5.680 million acres, down 15.5% from 6.720 million acres a year earlier.  White winter wheat seedings were estimated at 3.370 million acres, down 1.7% from 3.430 million a year earlier. 

According to USDA, producers in the top U.S. winter wheat state of Kansas cut their seedings by 1.1 million acres or 12.9% to 7.4 million acres, the lowest level since 1957.