Drought, freeze damage and dry conditions are combining to create another difficult season for hard red winter wheat production across the Plains. Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin said this year’s challenges extend well beyond Kansas. “Nothing’s really normal about this year’s wheat crop,” Gilpin said. “What makes this year so much different is that the area impacted is so much more widespread.” Gilpin said production concerns now stretch from Texas into Nebraska after dry weather persisted through the spring growing season. “We had a promising-looking crop when it went in the ground last fall and had a very warm, mild winter,” said Gilpin. “Then we just didn’t get the rains to help support the crop when it came out of dormancy.” The latest Texas crop reports highlighted freeze damage in irrigated wheat and hail losses in the west-central portions of the state. Wheat harvest has already begun in northeast Texas with early yields reportedly ranging from 40-to-50 bushels per acre.
