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North Dakota heat threatens wheat yields as wheat prices hit a 3-year high
A wave of 100-degree days is stressing fields in the key wheat state, coming amid Black Sea export risks from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
LiveMint reports that North Dakota wheat growers are entering harvest with new yield risk as scorching temperatures, including stretches of 100-degree days, stress fields while wheat prices have surged to a three-year high.
The article links the timing to wider market disruptions, saying escalating attacks between Russia and Ukraine are putting exports at risk in the Black Sea, a conflict that has repeatedly roiled the wheat market since 2022. Grower Jim Pellman, speaking during the Wheat Quality Council’s spring and durum wheat crop tour, said he is focused on getting bushels harvested and stored even as global volatility continues.
Attention on North Dakota comes as U.S. wheat production concerns build. After a May tour of Kansas fields that pegged hard red winter yields well below last year’s forecast, the USDA estimates total American wheat production this season is the lowest since 1970-71.
The report also notes that Russia, the top wheat exporter, warned that it was unsafe to navigate the Black Sea region due to threats from Ukraine, and the two countries together account for more than a quarter of global wheat shipments. Wheat futures have rallied nearly 40% this year, easing by as much as 1.8% after a previous day’s surge.
Latest closeWheat $694.50 ▼1.6%