News in brief: Drought and poor yields are causing a significant shift in US wheat farming, with the highest recorded rate of abandonment in over a century.
Drought, and subsequently, poor yield is forcing wheat farmers in the United States of America to abandon the crop. A news report claimed that they are shifting focus at an alarming rate that is the highest in over 100 years.
Perhaps you recall a report that Brazil may be the next corn king as the US could drop to second in 2023. Maybe Australia could also move America off its top spot as well later this year. Why? The country is going through a wheat production crisis.
A data report says that farmers are looking forward to harvesting only about 67% of the acres they planted. Prevailing dry conditions in US fields have left several wheat plants stunted and lacking moisture.
Justin Gilpin, chief executive officer of the trade group Kansas Wheat, seem to not be looking forward to this year’s edition of their annual tour of the state to survey fields and make production estimated.
“Weâll see short wheat, thin stands, some wheat that looks really good and a lot of fields that arenât going to be harvested,” he said.
If farmers abandon wheat farming at the rate that analysts are projecting, the country could see more decline in wheat production than it initially expected.
The USDAâs National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) wheat outlook for April 2023 expects 50 million acres of wheat plantation across the country. While this will be 9 per cent more than 2022 planting, it still predicts its lowest wheat export numbers in the last six years will happen this year. Therefore, if more farmers move on to other crops, this numbers could drop further in future projections as it means lesser acres farmed.
For the world at large, Ethiopia is ramping up its wheat production while the EU, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Zimbabwe are seeing slight decreases in output. Also, the global wheat consumption is rising.
