You might be giving farming wheat some serious thoughts.
Wheat remains as one of the most important crops despite the decline in
the consumption of flour and flour products as more Americans cut down
on carbohydrates in their diet.
This article will guide you with what you need to know about farming wheat and what it entails to be a wheat farmer.
Wheat is part of the grass family, producing dry, one-seeded fruit we
commonly call a kernel. An acre of wheat produces an average of around
40 bushels or approximately 2,400 pounds of wheat.
Varieties of modern wheat are usually grouped into winter wheats and
spring wheats. Winter wheats are more commonly-grown, comprising about
three-fourths of wheat produced in the US.
The varieties of wheat are:
- Hard wheat – its flour is used for making bread, rolls, fine cakes, and to a lesser extent for sweet goods and all-purpose flour.
- White and soft-wheat – have starchy and paler kernels and are used for piecrust, biscuits and other breakfast foods, cakes, cookies and prepared mixes.
- Durum – is the hardest-kernelled wheat and is used to make pasta products like macaroni and spaghetti.
Wheat is also used in making whiskey and beer. Its grains, the bran
(which is the residue from milling), and the vegetative plant parts make
valuable livestock feed.
Planting and harvest season of wheat differs for each variety throughout the year. Planting
season for winter wheat is in the fall and harvested in early summer
while spring wheat is in the spring and harvested in the fall.
Wheat farming in the US
The US is the world’s fourth largest producer of wheat, having
produced nearly 2.4 billion bushels from 63 million acres in 2008/2009.
Since 1960, wheat production has doubled worldwide despite wheat being a
difficult crop to grow since harvest can be affected by too little
rain, too much rain and wrong timing of rainfall during the year. These
weather factors can rot the heads of the wheat, rendering the entire
crop not suitable for human consumption.
Kansas is the largest state producer of wheat in the US. Other major
producers are the Ohio Valley, East Oregon, Washington and the prairie
states.
One of the challenges that you will face when you start your wheat
farm is the relatively low price of wheat. Since the 1950s, the price of
wheat has declined yearly by -2.7 percent at the average. With wheat
prices unable to match inflation, more and more farmers are looking at
other more lucrative crops to grow.
High-yield wheat requires high concentrations of fertilizer and adequate irrigation. Most wheat farmers
use large-scale mechanized farming methods which means you need to
invest on equipment for your farm. You will need the combine – a
self-propelled machine – for cutting and separating the grain. Grains
are then stored in the bin of the machine. When the bin is already full,
grains are deposited into a truck that brings the load to a grain
elevator for storage.
Other equipment that you will need are a tractor preferably with dual
rear wheels, planter, sprayer, and gravity wagons or semi trailers
where you can put the grains once the combine bin is full.
As in any other business, you must create a business plan before
starting your wheat farm to help you plan for your success. You should
identify what niche your wheat farming business will be servicing. Wheat
farmers in the US produce wheat for processing foods and feeds, and
wheat seed for cropping.
To help you get an idea how much you can potentially harvest from
your intended farm, do a research among the farmers in your community to
determine the highest yield recorded in the area. This will be a good
target for your farm.
Here are some things you can consider when increasing your potential harvest:
- It will be more costly and more difficult to manage diseases and pests in a dense crop.
- Before adding manpower or any materials, evaluate whether the additional costs can be recovered by the increase in harvest.
- Every time you use chemical inputs, it will have a long-term impact in the sustainability of your farm.
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