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Wisconsin expecting excellent winter wheat crop

If projections in Wisconsin are any indication, farmers in the Upper Midwest will be harvesting an excellent winter wheat crop.

University of Wisconsin Extension small grains specialist Shawn Conley says with about a month to go before harvest, the yield potential looks good.

“We just started doing some scouting, and to this point we have found no evidence of fusarium head scab in any of our trials yet.  We might be a little early yet, but we’re going to continue to scout for that.  But if you look out across the landscape, there’s a lot of really good looking wheat out there.”

He tells Brownfield the crop is shaping up to be above average, but probably won’t be a record-breaker.

“The wheat heads aren’t as big as they were I believe it was in 2012 when we had record yields.  So they’re not quite as long or as many florets out there.”

USDA’s latest crop production report forecasts winter wheat production in Wisconsin to exceed 20 million bushels, more than 30 percent above last year.