FAO/GIEWS - Foodcrops & Shortages 02/01 - UNITED STATES (13 February)

As of mid-February, weather conditions in the Great Plains, the major winter wheat growing area in the United States, continued to remain at best satisfactory for the 2001 wheat crop. Conditions have generally been colder than normal throughout the plains, keeping crop development at a slow pace. Some crops in northern Texas and Kansas are reported to have suffered significant damage from wind and frost. According to the USDA Seedings Report of 11 January, the winter wheat area for the 2001 harvest has declined to 16.7 million hectares, some 800 000 hectares or 5 percent less than the previous year and the lowest level since 1971. Dry conditions, which hampered planting in the main growing areas, are cited as the major cause of the reduction.

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