"Farmers in the central and southern Great Plains grow much of the country's bread-type wheat, hard red winter. It's sown in the fall to establish roots ahead of winter so it can start growing before the summer heat sets in. Kansas is the largest US producer, with Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado and Nebraska big growers as well. Numbers bear out Nielsen's observations, as Kansas and Oklahoma had their second-warmest year from March 2025 to March 2026."
"In March, temperatures were 10 to 11F above normal, says Shel Winkley, a Texas-based meteorologist at Climate Central, a non-profit research organization. It was the third-warmest March on record for Kansas, with record warmth for Oklahoma, allowing drought conditions to set in further. This year's winter wheat crop condition in the Plains is one of the poorest in recent history, rivaling 202"
A Kansas wheat crop appeared healthy after fall planting due to higher-than-normal November rainfall. An abnormally warm and dry winter, followed by extreme temperature swings during the winter-to-spring transition, stressed the developing plants. Daily temperatures fluctuated widely, with warm days and lows in the teens or low 20s on other days. The stress reduced expected yields to about two bushels per acre versus typical upper-40s to mid-50s. The crop was terminated rather than harvested. The situation reflects broader conditions across the central and southern Great Plains, where bread-type hard red winter wheat is widely grown and where recent warmth and drought have worsened crop conditions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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