Smallest Since 1971

MANHATTAN, Kan. – U.S. farmers seeded 41.3 million acres to winter wheat, down 5 percent from 2000 and the smallest acreage since 1971, according to a government report.

Most analysts expected closer to a 2.8 percent decrease, said Kansas State University economist Bill Tierney.

Seedings of hard red winter wheat, the predominate type grown through the Plains states, were down 4.9 percent – about 1.48 million acres.

USDA data on winter wheat seedings by-class only go back to 1982, but K-State figures, which go back to 1973, indicate that hard red winter wheat seedings this year are the smallest in over 28 years, said Tierney, who is a crops marketing specialist with K-State Research and Extension.

Soft red winter wheat seedings were estimated at 610,000 acres. That would be the smallest figure since 1979, according to K-State data, Tierney said.

The USDA also estimated wheat stocks as of Dec. 1, 2000, at 1.8 billion bushels, 82 million less than last year and 17 million below industry expectations, he said.

"Producers looking for an opportunity to price their 2001 wheat crop, may want to price a portion of their expected crop now," Tierney said. "At $3.58, KCBT [Kansas City Board of Trade] July futures are the highest they have been since March of 1998. July futures are also 45 cents higher than they were at harvest time last year.

"In anticipation of a further rally in wheat prices, producers may want to purchase out-of-the-money call options, perhaps $3.90 and $4.00 on KCBT July wheat. If futures do rally to those strike prices, the calls will already be in place to cover additional sales."

For more information, interested persons can go to the Website http://www.agecon.ksu.edu/risk/.

-30-

K_State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well_being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K_State campus in Manhattan.

Mary Lou Peter, Communications Specialist

mlpeter@oznet.ksu.edu

K-State Research and Extension

Bill Tierney is at wtierney@agecon.ksu.edu