Is there still hope for your winter wheat??

I realize that most decisions regarding whether or not to tear up an existing winter wheat stand and start over with spring wheat have already been made.  However, maybe you are still on the fence or you decided to let your winter wheat stand grow and are having second thoughts.

I should probably start with some background information about why these decisions are even being considered.  Winter wheat fields across the county are difficult to judge in regards to their future productivity at this time of year, especially this year.  Typically, by now, one would have a fairly good estimate of what to expect in regards to the survival of a field of winter wheat and potential for a successful harvest.  We are not that fortunate this year.  Our cold winter, lack of snow cover, and slow to warm up spring have combined to give agronomists headaches when determining the future success of a field of winter wheat.  I have received calls from producers looking to re-seed with spring wheat and crop insurance adjusters trying to determine whether the winter wheat crop will “come out of it” and still produce a respectable harvest.

So if you are evaluating a stand of winter wheat and are still on the fence in regards to what to do next, here are a few options from Joel Ransom who is an Extension Agronomist for Cereal Crops at NDSU.

1-      A half stand of winter wheat can produce a reasonable crop. If your poorest areas of the field have 10 or more plants per square foot, the likelihood of a successful crop is quite good. Given the lateness of the spring and the likelihood that anything else that is planted will be planted later than optimum would suggest sticking with your winter wheat crop.

2-      If your poor areas are patchy and comprise less than a quarter of the field, you might consider keeping stands as low as 5-10 plants per square foot. For these types of fields, adding some spring nitrogen as soon as you can get into the field may be beneficial. Controlling weeds early will be important in these fields so that weeds don’t fill any voids.

3-      For fields with a few very large patches with few or no plants, planting something to reduce weed growth and soil erosion is recommended. Some farmers have reported good results from planting spring wheat to fill in such gaps but be prepared for the fact that spring wheat matures later than winter wheat so harvest will be problematic. Furthermore, mixing wheat classes can cause problems at the elevator. Planting winter wheat into large gaps can also be an option. Winter wheat planted in the spring will not vernalize so it will not produce a head (or there will be fewer late heads), but will provide ground cover until harvest.
So maybe it is not too late and if you have taken the “wait and see” approach in regards to your winter wheat fields, you may still be alright.  As with most things in the agriculture production world, “time will tell”, and unfortunately that is about as good of a prediction as I can give in regards to what the growing season will be like.