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Colder temperatures might be a shock to winter wheat

Colder weather is on the way to hard and soft winter wheat growing areas.  The cold will focus on the Midwest and Delta, where temperatures by late next week will generally be three to five degrees below normal.

Radiant Solutions Weather agriculture forecaster Don Keeney tells Brownfield there’s not much threat of winterkill, except in eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota.

“Temperatures there may drop to near zero,” Keeney told Brownfield Ag News, “and of course there will be a lack of snow cover there, so we may see some isolated winterkill there for the wheat.”

Temperatures have been well above normal across most of the Plains, Midwest, and Delta in recent weeks.  It’s kept winterkill threats low, but it’s also lowered the cold hardiness of winter wheat.  Keeney says readings in the Central Plains hard wheat belt will generally be just a few degrees below normal, with no threat of winterkill expected there.

AUDIO: Don Keeney (2 min. MP3)