USDA report says planted acreage for major crops in Oklahoma falls to lowest level since 2001
By Ken Miller, APThursday, July 1, 2010
Acreage planted in crops in Okla down in 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma farmers are expected this year to plant the fewest acres in crops in the state since 2001.
Farmers are expected to plant 9.9 million acres of the state’s major crops in 2010, down 6 percent from 10.5 million acres planted in 2009 and the fewest since 9.8 million acres were planted in 2001, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The number of acres planted in wheat, the state’s largest crop, is expected to fall from 5.7 million last year to 5.2 million in 2010, the fewest since 1971 when 5.05 million acres were planted.
The report, released Wednesday, also said fewer acres will be planted in oats, rye, corn and sunflowers. An increase in acreage is expected for cotton, sorghum, soybeans, peanuts and canola.
Economics is one factor in reduced wheat production, said Tim Bartram, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association in Enid. Prices are ranging from $3.40 per bushel at Davis to $3.88 at Stillwater, down from about $4.65 per bushel a year ago, the USDA reported.
Other factors also come into play in decisions to cut back on wheat planting, which occurs in the fall, said Bertram, whose family grows wheat primarily to rent for grazing cattle.
“For the first time in Oklahoma history there are becoming crops that are as dependable to grow as wheat, winter canola, corn, soybeans and milo,” he said.
“The ability to get crop insurance on these other crops is another factor, where there’s not as much risk involved in those other crops.”
Bertram said wheat production is supported by farmers who grow it for grazing.
“For a lot of years that’s where the profit in wheat has been, what you make off the calves,” he said.
Global demand for wheat has also lessened, resulting in a large amount of wheat in storage in the U.S. That has resulted in falling prices for the grain and led farmers to decide to plant other crops, he said.
