Production Blog

Separating Wheat From Chaff

According to the Illinois Wheat Association, Illinois led the nation in the production of wheat more than 100 years ago. (DTN photo by Pam Smith)

PALMYRA, Ill. (DTN) -- I grew up in corn and soybean country, but wheat was my favorite crop. It still is. That rich green blanket that breaks up sameness of the stubble fields is the first shot of green we see each spring.

Last week, I found soft red winter wheat in the region of my youth flourishing. According to the Illinois Wheat Association, the state led the nation in the production of wheat more than 100 years ago. Returning the state to that status isn't going to happen, but I was pleasantly surprised to see more wheat than I've seen in years growing in this part of west central Illinois. I'm all for introducing more crops into the rotation and if the wheat ripens and we have enough moisture, this area can take a shot at double-cropping soybeans.

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I realize hard red winter wheat is the bread and butter of the wheat world. Unfortunately, reports from today's real wheat belt look a bit grim. This week scouts will span across this bread basket to get a better read on how winterkill, drought and disease might influence yields.

DTN is loyal about sending reporters on these tours. Yep, we could gather this information from a wire report, but we don't. We believe in seeing and measuring the crop first hand. Despite some good meals at local diners, this is not always easy work. Scouts pull many samples and cover a lot of territory each day. Co-mingling the information makes for a long night and while many of the scouts slumber, our reporters are crunching the numbers for readers to digest.

This year Progressive Farmer managing editor Rhonda Brooks held her hand up first for the honor of attending the spring wheat tour. She'll be posting daily reports and using Twitter to give timely updates to what she's seeing May 5 through May 7. You can follow her at: @RBrooksDTNPF on Twitter.

Eat up the information. I know I will be.

Pamela Smith can be reached at Pamela.smith@dtn.com

(PS/AG)

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Comments

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Pamela Smith
5/5/2015 | 2:08 PM CDT
So far Rhonda is getting a good shower with lots of rain in central Kansas. Nothing like getting in and out of cars all day and being wet. I'm mentally sending her a strong cup of coffee. Don't forget to monitor her Twitter feeds, they are getting interesting!
Gordon Stebens
5/5/2015 | 8:49 AM CDT
Nice article Pam. Here in Northwestern OK the wheat is looking good in places but not great. We had little rains during the winter season but spring is bring the rains this year so far on the Hard Red Winter wheat. With the rains also can bring on rust that some farmers have been able to get sprayed with others not so fortunate. With spraying, waiting for the winds to slow down enough,the rains to stop and not being able to spray for wheat rust one month before harvest has been very challenging. Looking forward to see what Rhonda Brooks brings back with her report.
Timothy Miringu
5/5/2015 | 12:39 AM CDT
We always get enlightened when we read posts and articles from DTN progressive farmer. Valuable info on wheat farming for our students at http://cavs.uonbi.ac.ke(College of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, University of Nairobi)