At the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association’s 127th Annual Meeting, Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, had the chance to catch up with Oklahoma State University Extension Area Agronomist Specialist Josh Bushong. Bushong talks about Oklahoma’s winter wheat crop and the estimates for harvested acres, yield, and total production from OSU Extension and Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association members.
This is the 45th year of the Crop Tour Report. Hays noted that in 2024, the wheat crop improved significantly after that year’s report was released. Bushong explained, “It is a snapshot in time. It is our best estimate to see what kind of crop we need to manage here pretty soon.”
The state is divided into nine regions that are evaluated by various teams of agronomists. He admitted that they were too conservative in last year’s estimates, shorting the actual outcome by almost 20 million bushels, but was pleased with the better-than-expected production numbers.
He noted weak stands last fall and shortened wheat pasture throughout the winter, which caused producers to be reluctant to use very many inputs, but when spring rains began to fall, they applied fertilizer to finish out the kernels.
The total 2025 wheat crop tour estimates came to 2,815,491 harvested acres, 35.9 bushels per acre, and a total production of 101.169 million bushels. The estimate from the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association members came to 2,777,000 harvested acres, 37.2 bushels per acre, and a total production of 103.336 million bushels. It is important to note that these estimates should be perceived as a moving average.
“We didn’t have a lot of diseases this year, thank goodness, and not a lot of insect pressures, but the main pests we had were weeds,” he detailed. “That’s an investment that we really need to look at more in the future.”
He noted the appearance of loose smut as the season nears its end, but said that it is the easiest to deal with among other smut varieties. He recommended producers use seed treatments before next year’s planting season.
The moist, cool air has been good for the crop’s development, but Bushong warned that when temperatures rise above 85 degrees, the kernels will be more difficult to set up. “Most of those crops are in anthesis, or flowering,” he noted. “We do have some pockets up in North Central that are late planted or resown patches that are still almost to anthesis, so they may still have some issues needing fungicide pretty timely, but for the most part, we are past anthesis. The kernels are already set, and we just have to finish them out.”
As far as the expected harvest time, Bushong noted that despite the late break in dormancy, the crop has reached the boot stage more quickly, which has nearly equaled out. He said, “The saturated soils are going to prematurely put this crop in, as well. Hopefully, the ground drains out and we can finish these crops out without terminating them too quickly with the flooded ground.”
If the soil drains as hoped for, Bushong estimates the harvest to be on time in the southern part of the state to a week or so later in the northern regions.
Review the full presentation at the 2025 report session by looking at the Powerpoint below:
