10/26/05 Winter wheat ratings below last year

October 26, 2005 USDA's Weekly Crop Progress report this week includes a first look at the winter wheat crop condition. Department meteorologist Brad Rippey says that at the start of this week the crop was rated 57 percent good to excellent and 10 percent poor to very poor. Rippey: "Which means we are starting out in worse shape than this time last year when the crop was rated 76% good to excellent and just 2% very poor to poor." And one of the problem areas for winter wheat is the dryness in the Pacific Northwest. Rippey: "Oregon winter wheat rated 25 percent poor. Also some trouble spots in the Delta states with dryness. Lingering drought from the summer and Arkansas now rated 29% very poor to poor. On the Plains we've got some patchy dryness. In particular the north Texas panhandle dry the last couple of months and also some trouble spots further east in the state. Overall Texas winter wheat coming out with the first condition report at 28% very poor to poor." Washington's winter wheat was rated 51% good to excellent with six percent in the very poor to poor categories. Idaho's crop is 80 percent good to excellent with only four percent rated poor. Winter wheat seeding in Idaho and Washington was over 90 percent complete at the start of this week, only 55 percent complete in Oregon but in areas that got recent rains planting was said to be in a rush mode. Although the winter wheat crop's ratings are below last year analysts point out that weather next spring can determine what yield potential will be and acreage could increase particularly for soft red winter wheat. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.