Winter wheat has seen some trouble lately, but USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says this year’s crop is finally catching up.
“The good news with all that moisture that has come into our key production areas, emergence has caught up with the five-year average pace as of november 17th. We’re right on par with the five-year average at 84% emerged. That is one point behind last year. In addition to our two states with planting delays, North Carolina and Oklahoma, we see the emergence delays in those two states, no surprise there. But we also see emergence delays in Nebraska and South Dakota.”
Nationwide, 94 percent of the winter wheat crop is in the ground. When it comes to quality, USDA says nearly half is in the top category, with 15 percent rated poor to very poor.
