Nebraska's winter wheat forecast is down 3 percent from last year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that, based on May 1 conditions, Nebraska is expected to harvest 81.4 million bushels of winter wheat.

The harvest acreage is down 6 percent from last year.

Average yield is expected to hit 44 bushels an acre -- down a bushel from last year but almost 4 bushels higher than the 10-year Nebraska average.

The USDA said it expects the nation to harvest 1.78 billion bushels of winter wheat, up 17 percent from 2007.

The official estimate for Kansas' crop is 357.1 million bushels, which would again make it the nation's No. 1 state producer.