The major winter wheat-growing regions in the U.S. face the significant possibility of below-average yields. DTN says that’s because drought intensified through the Plains this spring, and summer forecasts don’t show much relief ahead.
A dry fall, winter, and spring combined with winds over 60 mph have pushed the winter wheat to the limit. DTN Meteorologist John Baranick says overall conditions are poor from Nebraska through western Kansas and into West Texas. The region’s lower precipitation trend dates back to late in the summer of 2021. Precipitation stayed low through the fall and winter, while spring storm systems stayed to the north. Persistent high winds have only made things harder for the wheat crop. As active spring storms swung north across the western U.S., they sent strong, dry winds into the Plains.
Baranick says, “Strong winds combined with the dryness have caused lots of blowing dust and buried some of the wheat.”
