Wheat prices hit 10-year low

With the price of wheat hitting a 10-year low, there are opportunities for farmers to integrate wheat as a cover crop or for a gap season, but the USDA believes the demand will increase in the years ahead.

The USDA, in long-term projections released in February, predicts the domestic and foreign use of wheat will reverse its sharp drop over the past five years, steadily climbing as feed use of grains levels off and the overall world food demand continues to climb.

The support level for December wheat has dipped below the $4 mark and is now down at $3.50 to $3.75, with Canadian wheat prices tied in many ways to what’s happening in U.S. markets. Most recent estimates show a U.S. harvest of 15 billion bushels.

The United States was fifth in the world in 2015 wheat productions with more than 63 million metric tons, ranking it behind the European Union, China, India and Russia.

Planting winter wheat allows for six to eight weeks of growth before the soil freezes, giving time for good root development before the plants go dormant for the winter months.

One farmer from Bedford — located near Clarinda — told Practical Farmers of Iowa wheat helps him diversify and fortify the soil at his farm, where he grows corn, soybeans and small grains and raises cattle and sheep. Planting a diverse cover crop mix, into a recently combined field of wheat in early July, helps reduce input costs during tough times, as the amount of fertilizer and herbicides needed for wheat are minimal or non-existent.

A farmer from Alton, near Sioux City, said his 100-acre hard red winter wheat crop yields about 60 bushels per acre, similar to that of soybeans.

The amount of Iowa winter wheat production went up by about 45,000 bushels from 2014 to 2015, even though overall American production of the crop dropped by about 7 million bushels to 1,377,216,000.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com