U.S. Plains Wheat Ratings Decline in Kansas and Oklahoma, USDA Says

CHICAGO, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Condition ratings for winter wheat declined during December in Kansas, the top U.S. winter wheat producer, even as dry conditions subsided in parts of the state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Monday.

The United States is the world’s No. 5 wheat exporter.

The USDA issued its last national winter wheat ratings of the season on Nov. 25, reporting 55% of the U.S. crop in good-to-excellent condition, the highest for that time of year in six years. Over the winter, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service releases monthly reports for select states. The government resumes weekly U.S. crop progress reports in April.

The USDA rated 47% of the Kansas winter wheat crop in good-to-excellent condition, as of Jan. 5, down from 55% in late November. Wheat ratings also declined during December in Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota, but improved in Montana and Colorado.

About 25% of the winter wheat crop nationally was in an area experiencing drought, as of Dec. 31, the USDA said last week, down from 27% the previous week and 32% a year earlier.

Farmers in the Plains states grow hard red winter wheat, the largest U.S. wheat class, which is milled into flour for bread.

Ratings declined in Illinois and Ohio, where farmers grow soft red winter wheat used to make cookies and snack foods. The USDA rated 69% of the Illinois crop as good-to-excellent by Jan. 5, down from 80% in late November.

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)