NAPLES, FLA. — A panel of soft wheat millers at the North American Millers’ Association’s 2018 spring conference in Naples on March 27 forecast 2018 soft red winter wheat production at 310,475,000 bus, up 18,319,000 bus, or 6%, from 292,156,000 bus as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimate for 2017 production.
The panel forecast soft white winter wheat production this year at 200,737,000 bus, down 2,486,000 bus, or 1.2%, from estimated 2017 outturn of 203,223,000 bus.
Though up from last year, if realized, the millers’ 2018 soft red winter wheat production forecast would be the second lowest (after last year) since 2010 and 23% below the 2013-17 average outturn of 403,890,400 bus. The soft white winter forecast, if realized, would be the lowest since 169,081,000 bus in 2015 but is 2.4% above the five-year average outturn of 196,130,000 bus.
The U.S.D.A. will issue its first 2018 U.S. winter wheat production forecasts in its May Crop Production report.
