11/14/05 Some record spud yields

11/14/05 Some record spud yields

Farm and Ranch November 14, 2005 USDA's first estimate of the U.S. fall potato crop shows total production down from last year but some northwest states with record yields. At 382 million hundredweight U.S. production is forecast to be down seven percent from 2004. Idaho, the nation's number one spud producing state has a crop pegged at 117 million hundredweight, 11 percent below last year and the lowest since 1989. Washington's production is up two percent at 95.5 million hundredweight with yields at a recording breaking 620 hundredweight per acre, 30 hundredweight above last year. Oregon's production is up nine percent over 2004 due to the record high yields of 584 hundredweight. Total U.S. potato production in 2005 from all four seasons is estimated at 421 million hundredweight, down eight percent from last year. USDA left overall U.S. wheat export projections and ending stocks unchanged in its supply and demand report last week but did make some changes among classes though not to soft white. Louise Gartner of Spectrum Commodities in Ohio says hard red winter stocks are getting tight. Gartner: "The ending stocks there at 175 million bushels, that's the lowest ending stocks we have seen since 96-97. That's a big reason why we are seeing Kansas City continue to be the leader of the wheat complex." Gartner says hard red spring is not far behind with the tightest ending stocks since 97-98. USDA raised global wheat ending stocks by just over two million tons from last month. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Ag Information Network.
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