Winter Wheat Condition Rating Down from a Year Ago, Below Expectations

The US winter wheat crop is off to a poorer start than a year ago, mainly due to overly dry conditions across the southern Plains – particularly Oklahoma. In its first condition rating for the 2025 nationwide crop on Monday, the USDA pegged it at 38% good to excellent as of Sunday. That is 9 points below last year’s initial rating for the 2024 crop and 5 points below the average pre-report trade guess. Almost one-quarter of the national winter wheat crop (23%) was rated in poor to ve