The 2024 US barley crop was even smaller than expected, while the oat crop was bit larger.
Monday’s USDA small grains summary put this year’s US barley crop at 143.836 million bu, down from the previous estimate of 148.805 million and now 23% below last year. On the other hand, the oat crop is now seen at 67.793 million bu, up from the earlier projection of 67.6 million and 23% above 2023.
This year’s average US barley yield, at 76.7 bu/acre, was actually up 4.4 from 2023, but that was not enough to overcome a 27% reduction in harvested area to just 1.88 million acres.
For oats, this year’s average national yield of 76.5 bu was up 7.7 bu from a year ago and a new record high. Harvested area, at 886,000 acres, was also up 11% on the year.
