Increasing demand for whole grain white bread and other whole grain products by the American consumer is conducive for growth of this wheat class. Kansas’ natural resources such as climate, soil and rainfall, along with its central location, make Kansas ideal to grow wheat that can be distributed to the world.
This of course begs the inquiry “What happened to Oklahoma’s wheat crop?”
Oklahoma State’s Anderson echoes those sentiments, noting that Oklahoma wheat harvested acres fell 15% in the past five years, while corn, soybean, and sorghum acres increased. Cotton harvested acres have surged fourfold from 140,000 acres in 2012 to 550,000 acres in 2017.
Because of low prices due, in part, to increased world production, the number of acres of winter wheat varieties grown in the U. Is the lowest in 99 years. Reduced profitability is driving farmers out or leading them to plant more lucrative row crops such as corn or sorghum.
Once wheat is harvested, it is stored on the farm or taken directly to an elevator for storage or sale. On-farm storage is more prevalent in the Northern Plains. In 1997, approximately 79 million seeded acres produced nearly 65 million metric tons of wheat in the Great Plains.
Humans recognized the food value of wheat, which today is one of the most important cultivated crops in the world. Commercially in the United States, wheat is classified based on seed coat color (red or white), kernel texture (hard or soft), and growth habit (winter or spring).
Why does wheat grow well on the great plains?
Wheat is an important crop, because wheat can grow well even without much rainfall. Large areas of the Great Plains, like this land in Texas, are also used for grazing cattle. Winds that blow across the Great Plains are now being used to turn the blades of electricity generating windmills.
When I was writing we ran into the inquiry “How is wheat stored in the Great Plains?”.
You see, this transition began in the late 1960s in the Northern Great Plains and was completed in the Southern Great Plains by the early 1980s. Once wheat is harvested, it is stored on the farm or taken directly to an elevator for storage or sale. On-farm storage is more prevalent in the Northern Plains.
In the Great Plains three market classes of wheat are typically grown: hard red winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, and durum wheat.
Is it easy to make money growing wheat?
Stone, the farmer from Kansas, says five years ago, when crop prices were at records, it was easy to make money growing wheat – or any agriculture commodity, for that matter. It was so easy, in fact, it’s led to the current conundrum facing U., and farmers.
How many bushels of winter wheat are there?
Acreage of winter wheat last year fell to 32.6 million, the lowest level since 1909, according to the USDA, meaning a lot of producers are shunning the grain in favor of crops that offer better profitability. Production in 2017 totaled 1.27 billion bushels, the lowest amount since 1978, USDA data show.