Some states are running out of time for winter wheat

Farm and Ranch November 5, 2009 Winter wheat planting is about complete in the Pacific Northwest but as the USDA reported this week there are states east of the Mississippi that are running way behind in getting a crop planted because of wet conditions and/or delays in row crop harvesting. In some of those states planting is as much as 57 points behind the five year average for now. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says: Rippey: "We are running out of time. Average temperatures need to be above 40 degrees Fahrenheit for wheat to even germinate. And we are at a point now in places like Michigan where average temperatures have dropped to about that level. We are still looking at average temperatures around 50 in the lower part of the Ohio Valley. Maybe a short period of time there where wheat can emerge. But as you get into the northern wheat areas, especially Michigan, we are really run out time. We would have to have an unusual warm spell to even germinate wheat at this point." Michigan by the way grows soft white wheat. The other Midwest states with problems produce soft red winter, a competitor to soft white. As for the weather outlook Rippey says; Rippey: "We are going to be dry the rest of this week across much of the country but it looks like deteriorating conditions as we head into next week. The 8-14 day outlook for the period November 10-16th calls unfortunately for a return to wet weather for the Plains, the Mississippi Valley and much of the cornbelt." 16 As for the U.S. corn harvest; at the start of this week only 25 percent was in the bin. The five year average is 71 percent. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.