By Scout Nelson
Kansas wheat producers continue facing difficult growing conditions as drought and temperature swings impact winter wheat fields across the Plains. Wheat futures experienced major movement this week as crop concerns increased and tour participants reported damage in many production areas.
Agricultural economists say repeated temperature changes and dry weather have caused additional stress on the winter wheat crop. Fields already dealing with low moisture levels faced repeated freezing temperatures, which increased concerns about crop development and final yields.
“These back and forth, you know, whip sawing temperatures where we’ve seen multiple rounds of below freezing temps, especially with this crop being dry, maturing ahead of schedule, makes that impact even worse. It is interesting to note, you know, that we are seeing the Kansas wheat tour here this week. So we’ll kind of get some more anecdotal evidence of that, seeing folks actually out in the field. What we’ve seen so far is pretty ugly. So it’s kind of reflective of that.”
The annual Kansas wheat tour provided additional field observations from across the state. Participants reported continued drought stress and disease pressure in several wheat-growing regions. However, conditions and yield potential improved in areas closer to Wichita.
Market analysts also explained that United States wheat continues facing pressure from lower priced grain supplies available in global markets. Wheat from Russia, Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and parts of the European Union remains more competitively priced, creating challenges for U.S. exports.
“We just look considerably more expensive, especially when you look at somewhere like Russia, just eastern Europe in general, whether that’s Ukraine, even stuff from the EU, where they’ve had bigger crops, obviously, they’re, again, facing a growing season of their own. For right now, it looks like Russian production should be pretty big in the year ahead. And that means a lot of competition and a lot of very cheap competition.”
Despite current challenges, agricultural leaders highlighted the strength and resilience of the wheat industry.
“Something that resonated with me was just the resiliency of the industry,” Finnie told RFD News. “If this happened 20 to 30 years ago, I don’t think the crop would be as strong as it actually is. I think all the investments that the industry has made in research and education really does pay off. This is a prime example of that.”
Photo Credit: gettyimages-ygrek
Categories: Kansas, Crops, Wheat