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Northern Plains spring wheat harvest speeds ahead with strong quality
USDA data shows spring wheat was 62% harvested as of Aug. 23, ahead of last year and the five-year average, while early lab tests pointed to higher protein and milling characteristics.
Northern Plains farmers are moving through the spring wheat harvest faster than normal, and early quality checks are indicating strong protein and milling traits, according to World Grain. Erica Olson, marketing and research director with the North Dakota Wheat Commission, said hot, dry conditions during the growing season helped crops mature quickly, and largely cooperative weather during harvest has supported rapid field progress.
The US Department of Agriculture reported that spring wheat in the six major production states was 62% harvested as of Aug. 23, up from 41% a week earlier. That compares with 51% harvested at the same time last year and a five-year average of 52%, and the USDA rated the crop 51% good-to-excellent.
Quality testing from North Dakota State University’s Hard Red Spring Wheat Quality Laboratory, using the first 29 samples analyzed from US Wheat Associates’ first harvest report released Aug. 19, averaged 15.1% protein. Test weight averaged 60.9 pounds per bushel, falling number averaged 444 seconds versus 386 seconds last year, and the average grade was No. 1 dark northern spring wheat compared with No. 1 northern spring wheat as the 2025 and recent five-year-average grades.
Harvest completion varied across states, with the USDA listing 56% in North Dakota, 91% in South Dakota, 78% in Minnesota, 55% in Montana, 68% in Idaho, and 69% in Washington. Olson said favorable weather has helped producers maintain the pace despite scattered rain delays, though she cautioned that yields can still vary and that recent rainfall in parts of western North Dakota has raised more concern for durum than for spring wheat.
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