With the snow and cold we had a few weeks ago and more snow and cold expected this week, many are wondering about the health and well being of the winter wheat crop. According to the Kansas Wheat Commission, it’s looking like the crop will be better than last year’s. They say that the wheat inmost fields had established good strands this fall and the snow cover actually insulated the crop from the extreme cold very well. They say air temperatures were low enough to cause leaf burn, but soil temperatures two inches down never dropped below 20 degrees.
Of course, moisture is always a necessity and the crop is in dormancy right now and the true impact of the combined winter weather will not be seen until the crop comes out of dormancy, which the K-State Ag Department estimates will be in another 50 to 60 days. Until then, producers will continue to monitor fields and be counting the inches of snow received and all drops of precipitation that fall into the rain gauge.
