Output from the 2021 Washington’s winter wheat harvest was 47% lower than 2020’s yield, according to the USDA.
Most of the wheat grown in Washington state is winter wheat. Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in the summer.
The data collected for the story was published in the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service on Sept. 30.
Washington’s wheat growing region spans across southeastern Washington, which includes Douglas, Adams, and Grant counties.
Washington planted 1.75 million acres of winter wheat for 2021, down 50,000 acres from 2020. Harvested area, at 1.69 million acres, is down 60,000 acres from 2020. Winter wheat production in Washington is 71.0 million bushels, down 47 percent from last year with yield estimated at 42.0 bushels per acre, down 34.0 bushels per acre from 2020. Spring wheat production in Washington is 16.2 million bushels, down 51 percent from last year with yield estimated at 30.0 bushels per acre, down 31.0 bushels per acre from 2020.
Washington’s recording-breaking drought and heat in 2021 are to blame for the extreme drop in wheat production.
Overall, 2021's output is the worst wheat production seen in at least 30 years.