Unusually mild temperatures are forecast to linger in the US Plains and Midwest through next week, potentially advancing the growth of the region's winter wheat, weather and crop experts said on Friday. An early growth spurt could leave the crop vulnerable to freeze damage later in the season, although forecasts currently show no such risk.
"We are looking at 10 days of substantially warmer-than-normal conditions across much of the country," said David Streit, an agricultural meteorologist with the Commodity Weather Group. Winter wheat is planted in autumn and goes dormant during the winter before resuming growth in early spring.
Oklahoma's wheat is already developing about seven to 10 days ahead of last year, Oklahoma State University small grains specialist David Marburger said. Oklahoma is the second-biggest US winter wheat producer. "Since we started greening up earlier, having a freeze in that mid-March time frame could do more damage than it normally would," Marburger said. The warm spell has cost some Oklahoma producers a few days of grazing on wheat pasture, Marburger said.
Comments
Comments are closed.