The Woodward News

Local News

December 1, 2009

Conditions look favorable for wheat

“There was no happy medium. Wheat was either planted early or late.”

That was the assessment of Dana Bay of the OSU Extension Service in Woodward County on this year’s planting season.

Bay said she attributed the weather in the Woodward area as the cause. It was either too wet or too dry.

Farmers who planted wheat late won’t have an opportunity to graze their crops but Bay said it shouldn’t affect the outcome of the grain, “hoping, of course, the weather cooperates.”

Mike Schulte of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission said many producers throughout the state were late planting and some were as much as a month-and-a-half behind schedule.

“Where planting has emerged, we’re hoping for good weather,” he said. “In the Panhandle, farmers did plant earlier because they had moisture.”

As far as Northwest Oklahoma and the Woodward area, there could stand to be some moisture, he said.

“But things look much better moisture-wise compared to last year,” he said.

Last year’s drought caused a significant loss of wheat in Oklahoma.

Schulte could not say how many acres of wheat were planted statewide this fall, but noted 5.3 million acres were planted last year with only 3.5 million harvested because of the drought.

“It’s too early to tell, but conditions at this point and time make it look like it could be a favorable year,” he said. “There have been areas where the wheat is appearing yellow due to nitrogen lost from heavy rains and where wheat hasn’t been able to get enough oxygen.”

However, he said, it is hoped that future rain and light snows will help solve that problem.

As for late planting, there has been an advantage of lack of pests, like green bugs.

“We’re not seeing a lot of (pests) because the wheat got planted so late,” Schulte said. “With the colder weather setting in we don’t seem to have the pest problem this year as in previous years.”

According to Tim Bartram of the Oklahoma Wheat Grower’s Association, Oklahoma has a “huge window” compared to other parts of the country for planting wheat.

“October planted wheat is usually our best yield,” he said. “However, some years it has been different.”

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