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Ag stats: Colorado and U.S. crop production highlight for June 2019

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COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

Winter wheat production in Colorado, based on conditions as of July 1, 2019, is forecast at 94.60 million bushels, according to the July 1 Agricultural Yield Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. This forecast is 35 percent above the 70.20-million-bushel crop produced last year. Estimated acreage for harvest, at 2.15 million acres, is 200,000 acres more than the 1.95 million acres harvested in 2018. As of July 1, the average yield is forecast at 44.0 bushels per acre,

3.0 bushels above the June 1 forecast and 8.0 bushels above last year’s final yield.

As of June 30, Colorado's winter wheat crop condition was rated 1 percent very poor, 4 percent poor, 17 percent fair, 52 percent good, and 26 percent excellent, compared with 5 percent very poor, 18 percent poor, 29 percent fair, 41 percent good, and 7 percent excellent last year. Winter wheat harvest was 1 percent complete, compared with 19 percent last year and the 5-year average of 9 percent.

Barley production is forecast at 10.01 million bushels, up 33 percent from the 2018 crop. Area harvested is expected to total 77,000 acres, up 25,000 acres from the 52,000 acres harvested last year. Barley yield is forecast at 130.0 bushels per acre, 15.0 bushels per acre below last year.

As of June 30, Colorado’s barley crop condition was rated 1 percent very poor, 3 percent poor, 18 percent fair, 58 percent good, and 20 percent excellent, compared with 40 percent fair, 42 percent good, and 18 percent excellent last year. Barley headed was at 44 percent complete, compared with 73 percent last year and the 5-year average of 63 percent.

UNITED STATES HIGHLIGHTS

Winter wheat production is forecast at 1.29 billion bushels, up 1 percent from the June 1 forecast and up 9 percent from 2018. As of July 1, the United States yield is forecast at 51.8 bushels per acre, up 1.3 bushels from last month and up 3.9 bushels from last year’s average yield of 47.9 bushels per acre. The area expected to be harvested for grain or seed totals 24.9 million acres, unchanged from the Acreage report released on June 28, 2019, but up 1 percent from last year. Hard Red Winter production, at 804 million bushels, is up 1 percent from last month. Soft Red Winter, at 259 million bushels, is up less than 1 percent from the June forecast. White Winter, at 227 million bushels, is up 2 percent from last month. Of the White Winter production, 23.2 million bushels are Hard White, and 204 million bushels are Soft White.

Barley: Production is forecast at 171 million bushels, up 12 percent from 2018. Based on conditions as of July 1, the average yield for the United States is forecast at 73.3 bushels per acre, down 4.1 bushels from last year. Area harvested for grain or seed, at 2.33 million

acres, is unchanged from the Acreage report released on June 28, 2019, but up 18 percent from 2018.