Flour Milling Products - Quarterly Publication

Flour Milling Products
ISSN: 2378-2498

Released February 3, 2020, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department
of Agriculture (USDA).

Highlights
Third Quarter 2019, July through September, contained 92 days.
Fourth Quarter 2019, October through December, contained 92 days.
All wheat ground for flour during the fourth quarter 2019 was 232 million bushels, up less than 1 percent from the
third quarter 2019 grind of 232 million bushels and up less than 1 percent from the fourth quarter 2018 grind of
232 million bushels. Fourth quarter 2019 total flour production was 108 million hundredweight, up 1 percent from the
third quarter 2019 and up less than 1 percent from the fourth quarter 2018. Whole wheat flour production at
5.96 million hundredweight during the fourth quarter 2019 accounted for 6 percent of the total flour production. Millfeed
production from wheat in the fourth quarter 2019 was 1.62 million tons. The daily 24-hour milling capacity of wheat flour
during the fourth quarter 2019 was 1.65 million hundredweight.
Durum wheat ground for flour and semolina production during the fourth quarter of 2019 totaled 18.0 million bushels,
up 13 percent from the third quarter 2019 and up 3 percent from the fourth quarter 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 durum flour
and semolina production was 8.50 million hundredweight, up 13 percent from the third quarter 2019 and up 2 percent
from the fourth quarter 2018. Whole wheat durum flour and semolina production was 160,000 hundredweight,
down 20 percent from 200,000 hundredweight in the third quarter 2019 but unchanged from 160,000 hundredweight from
the fourth quarter 2018. Fourth quarter durum wheat millfeed production was 121,553 tons and the daily 24-hour milling
capacity for durum and semolina production was 131,330 hundredweight.
Rye ground for flour during the fourth quarter of 2019 was 456,000 bushels, down 1 percent from the third quarter 2019
but up 5 percent from the fourth quarter 2018. Rye flour production during the fourth quarter of 2019 was
214,000 hundredweight, compared to 218,000 hundredweight in the previous quarter and 210,000 hundredweight in the
same quarter for the previous year. The daily 24-hour milling capacity for rye milling was 9,785 hundredweight for the
fourth quarter 2019.

All Wheat Ground, Flour Production, and Capacity – Regions and United States:
October 2019 - December 2019 with Comparisons
Region

Wheat ground for
flour

Wheat flour
production

Daily (24-hour)
capacity

(1,000 bushels)

(1,000 cwt)

(cwt)

California
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

16,665
17,046
17,370

7,777
7,916
8,133

122,171
121,100
121,100

Colorado and Oklahoma
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

6,980
7,789
8,050

3,387
3,678
3,875

59,280
59,280
59,280

Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

9,385
9,015
8,684

4,309
4,166
3,996

64,000
64,000
57,600

Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

16,922
15,474
15,850

7,888
7,161
7,312

125,787
125,787
125,787

Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

22,532
24,158
24,133

10,603
11,282
11,529

146,252
176,252
176,252

Iowa and Nebraska
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

8,373
8,536
8,482

3,797
3,885
3,884

56,744
56,744
56,744

Kansas
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

15,284
15,152
14,599

7,091
7,016
6,786

117,132
117,132
111,132

Kentucky and Tennessee
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

8,577
9,144
8,990

4,019
4,260
4,174

52,650
52,500
52,500

Maryland and Virginia
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

6,845
7,021
6,786

3,090
3,159
3,083

55,192
52,692
52,692

Michigan
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

6,089
5,718
5,602

2,791
2,573
2,540

39,700
39,700
39,700

Minnesota
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

14,416
13,919
13,923

6,549
6,454
6,473

120,220
120,220
111,460

Missouri
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

13,414
13,195
13,718

6,213
6,030
6,406

84,800
92,800
92,800

New Jersey and New York
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

13,865
14,035
14,635

6,552
6,450
6,796

102,150
102,150
103,350
--continued

2

Flour Milling Products (February 2020)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

All Wheat Ground, Flour Production, and Capacity – Regions and United States:
October 2019 - December 2019 with Comparisons (continued)
Region

Wheat ground for
flour

Wheat flour
production

Daily (24-hour)
capacity

(1,000 bushels)

(1,000 cwt)

(cwt)

North Carolina
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

7,710
8,312
8,086

3,527
3,752
3,665

61,496
61,496
61,496

North Dakota
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

16,117
14,105
14,321

7,528
6,339
6,491

93,500
93,500
93,500

Ohio
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

13,334
12,741
13,042

6,103
5,765
5,872

92,900
92,900
88,400

Pennsylvania
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

12,435
12,489
12,415

5,851
5,781
5,687

87,800
85,400
85,400

Texas
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

12,701
12,967
12,595

5,896
6,058
5,977

90,750
90,750
90,750

Other States 1
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

10,017
10,959
11,147

4,747
5,103
5,241

69,807
69,807
69,807

United States
October 2018 - December 2018 .......................................
July 2019 - September 2019 ............................................
October 2019 - December 2019 .......................................

231,661
231,775
232,428

107,718
106,828
107,920

1,642,331
1,674,210
1,649,750

1

Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, and Louisiana combined to avoid disclosing individual operations.

Flour Milling Products (February 2020)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

3

Flour Milling Production, and Capacity – United States: October 2019 - December 2019
with Comparisons
Item

October - December 2018

July - September 2019

October - December 2019

All wheat
Wheat ground for flour .............................. 1,000 bushels
Flour production ............................................... 1,000 cwt
Whole wheat flour production ........................ 1,000 cwt
Millfeed production .................................................... tons
Daily 24-hour capacity................................................. cwt

231,661
107,718
5,531
1,628,348
1,642,331

231,775
106,828
4,924
1,659,494
1,674,210

232,428
107,920
5,957
1,624,974
1,649,750

Wheat, excluding durum
Wheat ground for flour ............................... 1,000 bushels
Flour production ................................................ 1,000 cwt
Whole wheat production ................................ 1,000 cwt
Millfeed production .................................................... tons
Daily 24-hour capacity................................................. cwt

214,123
99,418
5,371
1,507,511
1,519,001

215,847
99,327
4,724
1,551,290
1,542,880

214,393
99,416
5,797
1,503,421
1,518,420

Wheat, durum
Wheat ground for flour and semolina.......... 1,000 bushels
Durum flour and semolina production ................ 1,000 cwt
Whole wheat durum flour
and semolina production ........................... 1,000 cwt
Millfeed production .................................................... tons
Daily 24-hour capacity................................................. cwt

17,538
8,300

15,928
7,501

18,035
8,504

160
120,837
123,330

200
108,204
131,330

160
121,553
131,330

Rye
Rye ground for flour ................................... 1,000 bushels
Flour production ................................................ 1,000 cwt
Millfeed production .................................................... tons
Daily 24-hour capacity................................................. cwt

436
210
(D)
9,785

462
218
(D)
9,785

456
214
(D)
9,785

(D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.

4

Flour Milling Products (February 2020)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

Statistical Methodology
Survey Procedures: Flour Milling Products is part of the Current Agricultural Industrial Reports (CAIR) program. CAIR
reports are administered under NASS’s Census of Agriculture program. Response to CAIR surveys are required by law
(Title 7, U.S. Code). Data are collected from all known mills that produce wheat or rye flour.
The census universe was determined during operation profile interviews which were completed for each potential facility
to identify the presence of wheat or rye flour production in 2014. The operation profile also documented the manner in
which the firm will report. A firm headquarters can report for all milling locations or each location can report separately.
In the Flour Milling Products survey questionnaires, mills are asked for previous quarter data on wheat and rye ground for
flour, and production of flour, whole wheat flour, and millfeed. Quarters are based on a calendar year with the following
definitions: first quarter – January through March; second quarter – April through June; third quarter – July through
September; fourth quarter – October through December. Mills are mailed questionnaires with the options of completing
the survey by mail or by Electronic Data Reporting (EDR). For surveys not received in a reasonable amount of time,
telephone follow-up is conducted.
Estimating Procedures: Imputation is done for operations with non-response by using historical data and current data
relationships. Data for reporting firms are added to estimates for non-reporting firms to obtain National or Regional totals.
Revision Policy: Data are revised the following quarter based on late reports or corrected data. Final figures are published
in the annual summary of the following year.
Reliability: Approximately 165 reports are received each month which represent about 99 percent of total capacity.
Quarterly data can vary due to different firms reporting quarter to quarter. Survey data are also subject to non-sampling
errors such as omissions and mistakes in reporting and in processing the data. While these errors cannot be measured
directly, they are minimized by carefully reviewing all reported data for consistency and reasonableness.

Information Contacts
Listed below are the commodity statisticians in the Crops Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact
for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to [email protected].
Lance Honig, Chief, Crops Branch .................................................................................................................. (202) 720-2127
Travis Thorson, Head, Field Crops Section ..................................................................................................... (202) 720-2127
David Colwell – Current Agricultural Industrial Reports ......................................................................... (202) 720-8800
Chris Hawthorn – Corn, Flaxseed, Proso Millet ....................................................................................... (202) 720-9526
James Johanson – County Estimates, Hay................................................................................................. (202) 690-8533
Jeff Lemmons – Oats, Soybeans ............................................................................................................... (202) 690-3234
Irwin Anolik – Crop Weather, Barley ....................................................................................................... (202) 720-7621
Sammy Neal – Peanuts, Rice..................................................................................................................... (202) 720-7688
Jean Porter – Rye, Wheat .......................................................................................................................... (202) 720-8068
Chris Singh – Cotton, Cotton Ginnings, Sorghum .................................................................................... (202) 720-5944
Travis Thorson – Sunflower, Other Oilseeds ............................................................................................ (202) 720-7369

Flour Milling Products (February 2020)
USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service

5

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