News Release

SIOUX FALLS, MAY 12, 2005 _ The South Dakota May 1, 2005, winter wheat production forecast is 63.0 million bushels, up 12 percent from last year's 56.3 million bushels, according to USDA's South Dakota Ag Statistics Service. The winter wheat yield for 2005 is forecast at 45 bushels per acre, unchanged from last year. Harvested acreage is estimated at 1,400,000 acres, up 150,000 from 2004. Planted acreage, at 1.5 million, is down 9 percent (150,000 acres) from the previous year.

May 1, 2005 on-farm hay stocks, at 2.1 million tons, are up 39 percent from May 2004. Hay disappearance from December 1, 2004 to May 1, 2005 was 4.8 million tons, down 15 percent from last year. The increase in hay stocks from May 2004 can be attributed to mild winter conditions, reducing the need for supplemental feeding.