Farm News, IA
09-07-07
Winter wheat tests fairly well
By Kristin Danley-Greiner
Farm News staff writer
Iowa has a small but substantial winter wheat crop, which according to the 2007
Iowa Crop Performance Test, yielded fairly well.
According to the performance test conducted by Iowa State University (ISU)
Extension and the Iowa Crop Improvement Association (ICIA), average variety
yields were 60 bushels per acre and 60 pounds per bushel test weight. No winter
triticale varieties were tested this year, with only experimental lines grown, so no
data are being reported. The winter wheat test analyzed 17 hard red, four soft
red and two hard white varieties planted at Ames, Crawfordsville and Nashua.
The ICIA’s crop performance testing program is a cooperative effort with the Iowa
Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station at ISU and ISU Extension
and has been conducted for more than 20 years.
Lance Gibson, agronomy professor at ISU, said that there is more interest in
wheat this year than at any point over the past decade. The 10-year average
production was 30,000 acres and 2007 acreage was 35,000, he said.
“That’s because wheat prices are at record levels and the cost of corn production
has risen rapidly over the past two years,”î Gibson said. “The high production
costs are beginning to offset the high prices for corn. Wheat requires fewer inputs
than corn, especially less nitrogen. Wheat yields in Iowa have risen 50 percent
since a decade ago, but seed costs have risen very little. Current wheat prices
are double the 10-year average. There is growing interest in organic wheat
production in Iowa.Ӕ
According to the 2007 test, yields actually were below average this season,
Gibson said, because the freeze in early April froze off the leaf tissue that had
developed to that point. However, most of the plants were able to recover and
there was not much stand loss from the freeze, he noted. The plants had to
regrow leaves, which set them back and reduced yield. This information from the
test report will be valuable to producers, Gibson said.
“That’s because the growing conditions in Iowa are unique,”î he said. “The major
winter wheat growing areas are south and west of Iowa. Iowa has a wetter
climate than areas to the west and is colder than areas to the south. Also, newer
genetics are outperforming most of the older genetics.î”
There are several types of producers who could successfully grow winter wheat,
Gibson said.
“Anyone that can identify a suitable market and produce it economically,”î he
said. “Producers with major pest problems in their current cropping systems and
producers close to wheat markets on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers have
the best opportunity for profitability, because their transportation costs are lower,
as well as organic crop producers looking for a profitable crop in their rotation.”
Before considering winter wheat, Gibson said producers need to think about the
following:
n Identify a market before growing wheat,
n Select the right wheat type for your market, and
n Use the instructions and data in the variety test report to select the best
genetics for your situation.
Results of the 2007 Iowa Crop Performance Test are available online at
http://www.croptesting.iastate.edu/smallgrains/reports/reports.html. Published
bulletins will be available after Sept. 4 and can be requested by contacting ICIA
at 515-294-6921 or any ISU Extension county office or the ISU Extension
Distribution Center online at https://www.extension.iastate.edu/store/ or at 515294-5247.