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NASS reports higher 2024 small‑grains production, record spring wheat yields
Summary
NASS’s September Small Grains Annual Summary shows higher 2024 production across several small‑grain crops, record spring‑wheat yields in parts of the Northern Plains, and production gains for durum and oats driven by acreage and stronger yields.
Patrick Boyle, chief of NASS’s Crop Reporting Services branch, presented the Small Grains Annual Summary, reporting higher production for multiple small‑grain crops in 2024 and several record yields in major producing states.
Boyle said final winter wheat planted area was estimated at 33.4 million acres, with harvested acreage of 26.1 million and a final yield of 51.7 bushels per acre. Those figures produce a winter wheat crop of about 1.35 billion bushels — down slightly from the August forecast but substantially larger than 2023, when abandonment was unusually high.
The report flagged notably strong spring wheat performance: planted area was 10.6 million acres, and a record‑high national yield of 52.5 bushels per acre produced 542 million bushels, an 8% increase from 2023. Boyle attributed record yields in North Dakota and Minnesota to timely moisture during key growth stages, while Montana remained relatively dry.
Durum wheat planted area was reported at 264,000 acres, with 236,000 acres harvested and a yield of 39.3 bushels per acre. That produced just over 80 million bushels — the highest durum production since 2016, the presenter said.
Other small grains showed mixed results: barley planted area was 2.4 million acres with yields of about 76.7 bushels per acre and overall production down year‑over‑year; oats reached a record national average yield of 76.5 bushels per acre for total production of about 67.8 million bushels; rye yields hit a record 36.6 bushels per acre with production up roughly 42% from 2023.
Boyle emphasized methodology and data sources used to produce the estimates: NASS’s September operator survey (just under 56,000 producer responses), an off‑farm survey of ~8,000 elevators and commercial facilities, objective‑yield field samples from more than 1,100 winter wheat fields, and final administrative data from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Risk Management Agency (RMA). He said small, targeted revisions to harvested acreage based on administrative records produced minor adjustments to some production estimates.
The briefing closed with a preview of upcoming reports and NASS outreach events; Boyle reminded users to consult the official published estimates if any discrepancy appears between the briefing and the published tables.
