Condition ratings for winter wheat declined from late November to late December in most US Plains states, the US Department of Agriculture said on Thursday, reflecting dry conditions in some areas.
The United States is the world's second-largest wheat exporter after Russia.
The USDA issued its last national winter wheat ratings of the season on Nov. 25, reporting 52 percent of the US crop in good to excellent condition as of Nov. 24. Over the winter, USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service releases monthly reports for select states. The government will resume weekly US crop progress reports in April.
Crop ratings fell the most in Montana, the No. 5 winter wheat producer last year. The USDA rated 55 percent of Montana's winter wheat in good to excellent condition at the end of December, down from 68 percent by Nov. 24. In Oklahoma, the No. 3 producer, 40 percent of the winter wheat was rated good to excellent, down from 52 percent in late November.
Wheat also ratings declined in top producer Kansas, where more than half the state was abnormally dry until storms brought welcome precipitation in the last few days of December, according to the latest weekly US Drought Monitor.
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