Agricultural News
Wheat Industry Leader Mike Schulte Says Wheat Planting is Sitting on Go
Wed, 29 Sep 2021 15:28:26 CDT
It is prime time to plant the 2022 winter wheat crop in Oklahoma. Dry, warm weather has many producers dusting the crop in and crossing their fingers and toes for rain. Radio Oklahoma's own Ron Hays caught up with Mike Schulte, director of marketing for the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, to get his thoughts on the current wheat situation.
As of the latest USDA Crop Progress report, released Monday, 28% of the state's 2022 winter wheat crop is already in the ground.
"As of last night, we did receive nice rains in southwest Oklahoma," Schulte said. "There were some areas that go hit harder."
Within the past day in southwestern Oklahoma, areas near Elk City got up to one inch of rain, areas near Magnum got up to two-and-a-half inches of rain and the Lawton area got up to two inches of rain, according to the Mesonet. In southcentral Oklahoma, areas near Burneyville got up to three inches of rain, according to the Mesonet. Finally, the northeastern part of the state saw significant rainfall also, near Haskall, Eufala and Skiatook.
"Just talking with the producers around the Lawton area, it seems like (the rain) came fast and hard," Schulte said. "If there were some early plantings, I think there are going to be some challenges down there."
Although nearly one-third of Oklahoma's 2022 winter wheat crop is already planted, Schulte said he thinks many producers will wait to see what the coming week of weather brings before they pull the trigger on planting.
"Just because we have been so hot, the soil temperature is not where you would want it to be if you were trying to put the seed in the ground," Schulte said. "I suspect if we get some moisture this week, we will have drills moving at full speed ahead."
October is traditionally the prime time to plant winter wheat solely for grain production, but Schulte said in the past, dual-purpose wheat plating usually puts the state near 40% planted by the end of September.
At the same time, winter wheat producers are not just waiting for rain. Commodity prices are high going into this planting season and tomorrow a new USDA Crops/Stocks report is set to be released.
"I think it is going to be interesting to see what those numbers are telling us and what we are seeing in other places," Schulte said. "I think that producers are still weighing those options based on price and where we are headed in the future and they are going to try to go for a crop this year."
Click on the LISTEN BAR below to hear more from Ron Hays and Mike Schulte as they talk about putting cattle on wheat and pests, specifically fall armyworms.
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