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High Plains wheat crop takes a hit

The old adage that wheat has nine lives may be severely tested in coming days and weeks.

Anywhere from six to 20 inches of snow fell over the weekend on rapidly developing winter wheat in parts of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Romulo Lollato is an Extension wheat specialist at Kansas State University.

“We’re hearing from many producers who are seeing that the stands of their fields are actually broken because of the mechanical damage of the snowfall,”Lollato says. “All the weight on the crop really making the crop lodge, and in many cases, breaking the stem.”

And Lollato says the Kansas crop was also likely hurt by sub-freezing temperatures that occurred last week. He says many fields in southwest Kansas were already flowering, a couple weeks ahead of normal, which made them more susceptible to freezing temperatures.

“So fields that were flowering and that were under 32 degrees or so for over two or three hours, which is the majority of western Kansas, we definitely can see some freeze damage there.”

Lollato will be participating in a previously-scheduled wheat quality tour in Kansas this week and says they should know more about the extent of the damage in a few days.

AUDIO: Romulo Lollato