It was a great year for wheat production in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, and the government’s official Small Grains Summary bears that out.

Wheat production in Pennsylvania totaled 13.5 million bushels, up 32% from 2019. The average yield is 71 bushels, down 2 bushels from last year, though some growers reported yields well over the average, especially in the southeast part of the state.

The area harvested for wheat was 190,000 acres, up 36% from last year.

Maryland wheat production in 2020 is estimated at 11 million bushels, down 12% from last year. Growers reported 335,000 acres planted but only harvested 150,000 acres, which is down from 2019. Yield per acre is estimated at 73 bushels an acre, down 2 bushels from last year.

New Jersey growers produced 1.21 million bushels of wheat this year, up from last year’s 924,000 bushels, but average yields set a record of 67 bushels an acre, up 1 bushel from last year.

Delaware wheat production is estimated at 4.02 million bushels, up 12% from last year, with yields estimated at 73 bushels, up 1 bushel from last year’s average.

New York growers produced 7.9 million bushels of wheat, up significantly from last year’s 4.15 million bushels. Average yields are estimated at 66 bushels an acre, up from last year’s 63 bushels an acre.

Other small grains

Barley production in Maryland is estimated at 1.53 million bushels, up 6% from last year. But average yields declined to 73 bushels an acre, down 12 bushels from last year.

Barley production in Delaware is estimated at 1.26 million bushels, up 13% from last year, while yields averaged 84 bushels an acre, up 4 bushels.

Oat production in Pennsylvania is estimated at 2.75 million bushels, up 4% from last year. Yield is estimated at 50 bushels an acre, down 3 bushels from last year.

Barley production is estimated at 2.28 million bushels, up 30% from last year. Average yield is 76 bushels, up 6 bushels from last year.

Pennsylvania rye production is the only Northeast state listed in the USDA report. Rye production is estimated at 1.8 million bushels, up significantly from last year’s reported 364,000 bushels. Average yield is estimated at 52 bushels an acre, up from last year’s 26 bushels an acre.

Barley production in New York is estimated at 300,000 bushels, up from last year’s 208,000 bushels. Average yields are estimated at 60 bushels an acre, up from last year’s 52 bushels an acre.

Oat production is estimated at 1.69 million bushels, down from last year’s 2.3 million bushels. Yield is estimated at 53 bushels an acre, down 7 bushels from last year.

National view

Wheat production in the U.S. totaled 1.83 billion bushels in 2020, down 5% from the revised 2019 total. Area harvested totaled 36.7 million acres, down 2% from the previous year.

Average yield is estimated at 49.7 bushels per acre, down 2 bushels from 2019. North Dakota, Kansas and Montana are the country’s leading wheat production states.

Oat production is estimated at 65.4 million bushels, up 23% from last year. Yield is estimated at 65.1 bushels per acre, up 0.8 bushels from last year. Most production is centered in Minnesota and the Dakota states.

Barley production is estimated at 165 million bushels, down 4% from the revised 2019 total of 172 million bushels. The average yield, at 77.5 bushels per acre, was down 0.2 bushel from the previous year. Idaho and Montana are the leading barley production states.