US farmers to plant 10 million acres to spring wheat
The USDA’s NASS projects US all-wheat acreage for 2025 at 45.35 million acres, the second lowest on record, down 2% from 2024. Spring wheat plantings are set to drop 6%, while durum wheat falls 2%. Winter wheat acreage remains steady. Corn plantings rise 5%, while soybean acreage declines 4%, reflecting shifting farmer preferences.
WASHINGTON, DC, US — The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the US Department of Agriculture on March 31 projected area planted to all-wheat for harvest in 2025 at 45.35 million acres, down 2% from the year before. The acreage forecast was the lowest since 44.45 million acres were planted to wheat in 2020, and the second lowest in NASS records dating to 1919.
The forecast, published in the annual Prospective Plantings report, was below the range of analysts’ pre-report trade expectations that averaged 46.475 million acres. The report offered the first survey-based estimate of farmers’ 2025 planting intentions for all major crops and was based on a survey of 73,700 farmers during the first two weeks of March.
At 45.35 million acres, the all-wheat forecast fell below the recent five year average planted area at 46.52 million acres. Acreage would be down 49% from the record of 88.251 million acres planted in 1981.
Total area planted to all principal crops in 2025 was forecast to decrease by 1.3 million acres, or 0.4%, from last year. Projected corn acreage, up 5% from last year, was in line with trade expectations. The forecast for soybean area was down 4% from 2024 at 83.495 million acres.
Within the wheat data, NASS said farmers intend to plant 10.02 million acres to spring wheat other than durum in 2025, down 6% from 10.625 million acres in 2024. Acreage was 11.2 million in 2023.
In North Dakota, the largest spring wheat state, acreage was projected to decrease 6% from 2024 to 5.05 million acres. Planted acres would be down 9% from 5.55 million acres in 2023. North Dakota would account for 50% of all area planted to spring wheat other than durum.
Among the principal other spring wheat states, acreage in 2025 was forecast to be up 3% from 2024 in Minnesota, up 1% in Washington and steady in South Dakota. Plantings were expected to decrease 12% in Montana and 11% in Idaho.
Seedings of durum wheat in 2025 were projected at 2.015 million acres, down 2% from 2.064 million acres in 2024 but up from 1.676 million acres in 2023. Acreage would be down 65% from the record of 5.776 million acres in 1981.
North Dakota durum acreage in 2025 was forecast at 1.19 million acres, up 8% from 1.1 million acres in 2024 and above 905,000 acres in 2023. North Dakota would account for 59% of durum plantings.
Montana, the largest durum state other than North Dakota and accounting for 38% of plantings, was forecast at 760,000 acres, down 14% from 2024.
Winter wheat plantings for harvest in 2025 were estimated at 33.315 million acres, down 0.2% from 33.39 million in 2024 and the smallest since 33.281 million acres in 2022. The forecast was down 800,000 acres from the initial winter wheat seeding estimate issued by the USDA in January.
Breaking down the winter wheat planted area, the Department indicated 23.6 million acres were hard red winter wheat, 6.09 million acres were soft red winter wheat and 3.66 million acres were white winter wheat.
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Source : World Grain.com
