WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture on June 30, in its quarterly Grain Stocks report, estimated wheat stocks held in all positions on June 1, 2020, comprising the 2020 carryover supply, at 1,043,842,000 bus, down 35,919,000 bus, or 3%, from 1,079,761,000 bus in 2019. The recent five-year average June 1 wheat stocks was 1,018 million bus.

Of the nation’s June 1 wheat inventory, 231,995,000 bus, or 22% of all stocks, were held on farms compared with 19% in 2019.

The USDA estimated wheat use in March-May 2020 at 371,572,000 bus, down 141,738,000 bus, or 28%, from 513,310,000 bus in the same three-month span in 2019.

Wheat disappearance in 2019-20 totaled 1,956,058,000 bus, up 51,774,000 bus, or 3%, from 1,904,284,000 bus in 2018-19.

The nation’s largest regional wheat inventory on June 1 at 453,566,000 bus was held in the hard red winter wheat states of the Southwest comprising Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and Colorado. The June 1 Southwestern wheat stocks were down 17,585,000 bus, or 4%, from 471,151,000 bus in 2019. Southwestern wheat stocks on June 1 accounted for 43% of all the nation’s wheat stocks. Of the Southwestern June 1 wheat inventory, 17,100,000 bus, or 4% of the total, was stored on farms.

Wheat disappearance from the Southwest in March-May 2020 totaled 118,971,000 bus, down 61,743,000 bus, or 34%, from 180,714,000 bus in the final quarter of 2018-19. Wheat disappearance for the entire 2019-20 crop year was 688,575,000 bus, up 79,932,000 bus, or 13%, from 608,643,000 bus in 2018-19.

The second-largest regional wheat holdings on June 1 were in the spring wheat states of the Upper Midwest, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana. Upper Midwest wheat stocks totaled 320,671,000 bus, or 31% of all the nation’s wheat stocks, on June 1. The region’s wheat inventory was 19,979,000 bus, or 7%, larger than the 300,692,000 held in store a year earlier.

Of the Upper Midwest wheat inventory, 193,000,000 bus, or 60%, was held on farm. Upper Midwest on-farm wheat stocks accounted for 83% of the nation’s June 1 on-farm holdings.  

Wheat disappearance from the Upper Midwest in March-May 2020 totaled 111,619,000 bus, down 47,740,000 bus, or 30%, from 159,359,000 bus in the year-ago span. Wheat disappearance from the Upper Midwest in all of 2019-20 totaled 665,901,000 bus, up 33,668,000 bus, or 5%, from 632,233,000 bus in 2018-19.

The June 1 wheat inventory in the Central states, the major soft red winter wheat region that includes Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, totaled 80,550,000 bus, down 38,152,000 bus, or 32%, from 118,702,000 bus a year earlier. On-farm stocks in the Central states on June 1 totaled 1,370,000 bus, comprising 2% of all the region’s stocks.

March-May wheat use in the Central states totaled 29,074,000 bus, down 21,360,000 bus, or 42%, from 50,434,000 bus in 2019. Wheat disappearance from the Central states in all of 2019-20 totaled 171,332,000 bus, down 17,238,000 bus, or 9%, from 188,570,000 bus in 2018-19.

Wheat stocks in the Pacific Northwest on June 1 totaled 102,446,000 bus, up 14,991,000 bus, or 17%, from 87,455,000 bus a year ago. Of the region’s holdings, 14,600,000 bus were held on farms.

Wheat disappearance in the Pacific Northwest in March-May 2020 totaled 75,559,000 bus, down 2,410,000 bus, or 3%, from 77,969,000 bus during the same span a year ago. Wheat use in the region for the entire 2019-20 crop year was 276,139,000 bus, down 25,228,000 bus, or 8%, from 301,367,000 bus in 2018-19.

Separated out from the all-wheat inventory, durum stocks on June 1 totaled 42,847,000 bus, down 12,123,000 bus, or 22%, from 54,970,000 bus in 2019. Of the June 1 durum inventory, 17,700,000 bus, or 41%, was held on farms.

March-May durum use was 8,551,000 bus, down 10,868,000 bus, or 56%, from 19,419,000 bus in the same quarter a year ago. Durum disappearance in the 2019-20 crop year totaled 65,879,000 bus, up 7,918,000 bus, or 14%, from 57,961,000 bus in 2018-19.