Agricultural News
Is Oklahoma Getting to be Known for Dirty Wheat?
Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:31:14 CDT
The head of the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association and two other organizations representing feed, seed, agricultural chemicals, fertilizer and agribusiness-retailers hopes state wheat growers do things a little differently this year by planting an alternative crop this year or using a herbicide program to clean wheat fields.
“Oklahoma has gotten the reputation of having problems with dockage and foreign material in our wheat and it has made it harder for us to sell to our domestic millers and international customers,” said Joe Neal Hampton, president and CEO of the OGFA. “Over the last two years Oklahoma producers had 68 percent more dockage than Kansas and 23.5 percent more than Texas.”
Even more shocking was the fact that Oklahoma wheat had 150 percent more foreign material than Kansas and 337 percent more than Texas.
That meant huge discounts for Oklahoma producers for this year’s harvest and some loads of wheat were actually rejected for too much dockage, he said. Dockage and foreign material is caused by material other than wheat being present. Cheat, rye grass, rescue grass, jointed goat grass and wild oats are the most common causes of dockage while rye is the most common foreign material.
“It’s up to growers to clean up their fields because commercial cleaners that can handle the volume we produce are not economically or physically feasible,” Hampton said. “The obvious answer is to rotate their crops and practice good weed control. There are also several good chemicals to control some the worst offenders and growers are encouraged to use them.”
Some alternative crops include canola, corn, soybeans, milo, and sesame, he said. (We are now entering the window for planting Winter Canola- the other crops Hampton mentions are spring planted crops)
Many chemical companies and agribusiness retailers also maintain Certified Crop Advisors to assist producers in finding the best solution to their dirty wheat problems.
Producers should also make sure they are using high quality seed, Hampton said.
“Every extension agronomist at any southern plains land grand institution will tell you that one of the most important keys to success in growing good quality wheat is to start out with good quality seed,” he said. “Planting certified seed on as many acres as possible will consistently give a positive return on the investment.”
Hampton specifically advises farmers to begin avoiding varieties with Jagger parentage unless they are willing to apply a fungicide.
“Jagger varieties have lost resistance to strip rust which is becoming more prevalent in Oklahoma,” he said. “A fungicide will not only control various strains of rust, but it will generally improve test weights and yields.”
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