Wheat Planting and Harvest Seasons

Wheat crops around the world have their own unique production cycles of planting and harvest timeframes. Below are the window of opportunities for planting and harvesting wheat crops within each country. Grain prices tend to fluctuate the most during the growing seasons, as supply expectations can shift significantly due to planted acreage, weather and growing conditions.

In the United States and China, there are two seasonal wheat crops - spring wheat and winter wheat. Winter wheat accounts for nearly three-fourths of total U.S. production. North Dakota accounts for more than half of all U.S. spring wheat. The largest producing states for winter wheat are Kansas, Texas and Washington.

United States (8 percent of world production)

Winter Wheat:
Planting: Winter wheat is planted from mid-August through October.
Harvest: Winter wheat is harvested from mid-May to mid-July.

Spring Wheat:
Planting: Spring wheat is planted from April through May.
Harvest: Spring wheat is harvested from mid-August to mid-September.

China (18 percent of world production)

Winter Wheat:
Planting: Winter wheat is planted from mid-September through October.
Harvest: Winter wheat is harvested from mid-May through June.

Spring Wheat:
Planting: Spring wheat is planted from mid-March through April.
Harvest: Spring wheat is harvested from mid-July to mid-August.