Nebraska winter wheat crop forecast increases

Nebraska winter wheat crop forecast increases but still down 15 percent from last year's crop

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Authorities have raised their forecast for Nebraska's winter wheat crop, but the harvest still is expected to be the lowest since 1944.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's statistics service says that, based on June 1 conditions, Nebraska's farmers are expected to harvest 45.5 million bushels. That's up 6 percent from the May 1 forecast but down 15 percent from last year's crop.

The yield forecast is 35 bushels an acre. That's up 2 bushels from May but down 6 bushels from last year.

The acreage to be harvested for grain is estimated at 1.3 million acres, the same as last year.