Upper Midwest farmers are battling showers to harvest their spring wheat crop. But September also is the time to plant winter wheat, a crop that's drawing more attention than unusual this fall in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
"There's going to be quite a bit of winter wheat," says John Lukach, an agronomist at North Dakota State University Research Extension Center in Langdon.
Farmers in Montana and South Dakota generally have considerable experience with winter wheat, raising it in a regular rotation with other crops. Winter wheat is planted in the fall and harvested the following summer.
But many farmers in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota raise winter wheat only in special circumstances, and this fall could be one of them. The unusually wet spring led to a large number of unplanted acres, many of which could be seeded to winter wheat this fall.
That's what happened in 2013, when the wet spring, especially in northern North Dakota, led to a record 800,000 acres of winter wheat planted in the fall. Another 45,000 acres were planted last fall in Minnesota, where 30,000 to 40,000 acres of winter wheat annually is common.
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Less than a year ago
By all accounts, fewer acres will be planted to winter wheat this fall in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota than a year ago. Farmers generally planted longer and later this spring, hoping for favorable summer and fall weather that would produce good crops of spring wheat, soybeans and corn, ag officials say.
"Demand (for winter weed seed) is down from a year ago. It's not near what it was last year," says Hugh Hunt of Hallock, Minn., who sells winter wheat and grows it, too.
Even so, "Winter wheat is a good fit for PP (prevented-planting acres)," he says.
Planting winter wheat early, by Sept. 1, is usually best. Doing so gives winter wheat plants more time to establish themselves before going dormant during the winter, Hunt says.
Winter wheat seed is still available, though supplies are getting tighter, he says.
Generally, northern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota farmers should plant winter wheat no later than Sept. 10 to 15, with farmers farther south in North Dakota usually having another week or so to plant, Lukach says.
Tips for growers
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Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension Service agronomist, offers these tips for farmers interested in planting winter wheat:
• Plant into standing stubble when possible. The stubble will help collect snow, giving winter wheat more protection from the cold.
• Plant a winter-hardy variety, especially when not planting in standing residue.
• Apply phosphorous, which can increase winter hardiness.
• Plant about 1 to 1½ inches deep.
• Seed about 1 million seeds per acre.
• Break the "green bridge" by destroying all green vegetation that can provide a host for the wheat curl mite, which spreads the virus, causing wheat streak mosaic.
• Avoid varieties that lack high resistance to scab, a crop disease that's hurt some winter wheat harvested this fall.
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Regular role?
Lukach says more North Dakota and northwest Minnesota farmers should consider winter wheat grown to be regularly, not just in special circumstances.
The crop fits well in rotation with canola, of which North Dakota is the nation's leading producer, he says.
Winter wheat also can be attractive because it spreads out growers' workload, giving them less to do during the spring, he says.
