Editorial

Waiting, worrying, guessing

Thursday, June 16, 2005

As area grainmen know so well, you can't count your wheat kernels before they're harvested. Wheat growing -- especially in the wide open spaces of western Kansas and Nebraska -- is a game of waiting, worrying and guessing.

That's true every year, but rarely more so than it has been in 2005. Last summer's hail, this spring's frost and outbreaks of old and new diseases are taking their toll.

Still -- if the really hot weather holds off for a few weeks --a surprisingly large number of wheatgrowers in the Golden Plains could achieve above-average yields. That's the prediction of Bob Klein, the extension crop systems specialist for the West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte. Klein was in the McCook area Wednesday to lead a Winter Wheat Field Tour.

Afterwards, Klein said the hope for harvest success, even for some farmers, was not expected as recently as a month ago. Then, almost all grainmen were apprehensive about the wheat crop because of the late frost.

And the frost did hurt, especially in fields with thin stands and a shortage of moisture. But, the surprise was, thick stands escaped significant freeze damage because "they provided a canopy which held the heat in," Klein said.

On top of the frost, wheat producers this year have had to contend with a new disease, stripe rust, and an old one, wheat streak mosaic. The cool temperatures triggered the stripe problem, while the mosaic resulted from last summer's hail and last winter's late freeze. The combination spurred volunteer wheat growth, a prime breeding ground for the wheat streak disease.

Problems, problems, problems. They are an every year occurrence for wheatgrowers in this area. The 2004-2005 growing season is certainly no exception, making it even more stunning that a number of wheat fields are looking good.

Even so, danger still lurks. If the weather turns extremely hot in the next few days, Klein says the area's wheat crop will suffer. "Wheat's in the filling stage. For best results, we need temperatures to stay in the 85-degree range," he said.

So, after all is said and done, the wheat situation is the same as it has been throughout the history of this region. Farmers can only do so much. After the wheat's in the ground -- and fertilizer, herbicides, pesticides and water have been applied -- the wheat's success, or failure, depends on the weather.

If you've lived in the Great Plains for long, you can understand why that makes wheatgrowers worry. The unpredictability of the weather keeps them on edge until the wheat has been cut and the grain is in the bin.

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