“Concerns are mounting over freeze damage to winter wheat crops in the southern Plains,” says the Associated Press, pointing in particular to temperatures as low as the single digits in southern Kansas 10 days ago. Freeze damage began appearing days later, “as the once-healthy green heads of wheat turn deathly white.”
Wheat plants could offset the damage by sending up new sprouts, but they need moisture for growth and the southern Plains have been in a dry spell. Winter wheat, which is planted in the fall and lies dormant during the winter, began new growth in February due to unusually warm weather, putting the crop in peril of the eventual cold snap. MDA Weather Services forecast a harvest of 776 million bushels of hard red winter wheat, down 10 percent from a month ago because of freeze damage and the threat of drought, said AP. Hard red winter wheat, grown in the Plains, accounts for one-third of U.S. wheat production. Hard red winter wheat is a high-protein grain used in baking bread and ground into all-purpose flours.