Farmers in Kansas Give Up on Wheat after Drought, Cold
2023-05-27
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1The midwestern U.S. state of Kansas is one of the country's top grain-producing states.
2But farmers there are having to kill or plow over their winter wheat crop after a bad growing season.
3Farmers plant winter wheat in the autumn and it grows during the winter and early spring.
4Harvest time is in the summer.
5By the month of May, farmers have a good idea about the health of the wheat plants.
6This year's crop has suffered from the extremely dry and cold winter that Kansas experienced.
7The weather hurt the grain and kept it from growing well.
8As a result, farmers are choosing to kill, plow over or give up on their wheat fields.
9That information comes from a recent survey of industry experts and visits to Kansas farms by Reuters reporters.
10Some farmers will make an insurance claim to get a little bit of money.
11Others are letting cows walk their fields and eat the plants.
12Much of the wheat produced in Kansas is used for making bread.
13This year, many bread makers will have to look for other wheat sources.
14In nearby states, farmers who planted wheat in late 2022 are also reporting problems.
15Farmers across the U.S. plan to abandon 33 percent of their winter crop.
16That is the highest percentage in over 100 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
17About 19 percent of the winter wheat fields in Kansas will not be harvested this spring.
18That is up from 10 percent last year and two percent in 2021.
19Farm experts who recently visited Kansas say the percentage could grow even higher.
20Justin Gilpin is chief executive of the Kansas Wheat Commission.
21He said the percentage of abandoned fields could come close to 1989.
22That year, farmers gave up on 28 percent of their wheat.
23"You have a wheat crop that didn't come up," Gilpin said.
24Gilpin noted that there is a great demand for hay.
25Hay comes from the stems and leaves of plants such as wheat.
26The wheat is cut, dried and sent to farms for animals to eat.
27Some farmers are cutting the plants early, making hay and then selling it to animal farms.
28In Kansas, farmers are expected to produce only 191.4 million bushels of winter wheat this year.
29That would be the smallest wheat harvest since 1963.
30But the Wheat Quality Council, an industry group, believes the amount will be even lower.
31Those in the wheat business are not sure of the numbers yet because they do not yet know how many fields will be abandoned.
32People who work for insurance companies are going around Kansas, looking at fields, and deciding how much they will pay the farmers for their lost crops.
33Other farmers with dead wheat are thinking of planting sorghum, which could still grow this year even in dry conditions.
34The wheat-growing problem is not only in Kansas. In the neighboring state of Oklahoma, farmers are also worried about their harvest.
35In the northern part of the state, close to Kansas, some farmers will only harvest about 35 percent of the wheat they planted last year.
36Clay Schemm owns land in western Kansas.
37He said planting wheat in the autumn and then seeing it fail to grow is "kind of like watching a loved one go through a terminal illness."
38The bad wheat season also hurts the businesses in the area, such as hotels and restaurants.
39When farmers decide not to harvest their wheat, fewer laborers come to the area to help.
40As a result, not as many people eat at restaurants or stay in hotels.
41Kansas State University's College of Agriculture also suffers.
42It normally gets about $1 million from the Kansas Wheat Commission for programs and research.
43However, that money comes from wheat sales. If less wheat is sold, less money comes in.
44"We may not be able to do as much," said the College of Agriculture's leader, Ernie Minton.
45"It slows down the whole lifecycle of wheat research."
46I'm Dan Friedell.
1The midwestern U.S. state of Kansas is one of the country's top grain-producing states. But farmers there are having to kill or plow over their winter wheat crop after a bad growing season. 2Farmers plant winter wheat in the autumn and it grows during the winter and early spring. Harvest time is in the summer. 3By the month of May, farmers have a good idea about the health of the wheat plants. 4This year's crop has suffered from the extremely dry and cold winter that Kansas experienced. The weather hurt the grain and kept it from growing well. As a result, farmers are choosing to kill, plow over or give up on their wheat fields. That information comes from a recent survey of industry experts and visits to Kansas farms by Reuters reporters. 5Some farmers will make an insurance claim to get a little bit of money. Others are letting cows walk their fields and eat the plants. 6Much of the wheat produced in Kansas is used for making bread. This year, many bread makers will have to look for other wheat sources. 7In nearby states, farmers who planted wheat in late 2022 are also reporting problems. Farmers across the U.S. plan to abandon 33 percent of their winter crop. That is the highest percentage in over 100 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 8About 19 percent of the winter wheat fields in Kansas will not be harvested this spring. That is up from 10 percent last year and two percent in 2021. 9Farm experts who recently visited Kansas say the percentage could grow even higher. 10Justin Gilpin is chief executive of the Kansas Wheat Commission. He said the percentage of abandoned fields could come close to 1989. That year, farmers gave up on 28 percent of their wheat. 11"You have a wheat crop that didn't come up," Gilpin said. 12Gilpin noted that there is a great demand for hay. Hay comes from the stems and leaves of plants such as wheat. The wheat is cut, dried and sent to farms for animals to eat. Some farmers are cutting the plants early, making hay and then selling it to animal farms. 13In Kansas, farmers are expected to produce only 191.4 million bushels of winter wheat this year. That would be the smallest wheat harvest since 1963. But the Wheat Quality Council, an industry group, believes the amount will be even lower. 14Those in the wheat business are not sure of the numbers yet because they do not yet know how many fields will be abandoned. 15People who work for insurance companies are going around Kansas, looking at fields, and deciding how much they will pay the farmers for their lost crops. Other farmers with dead wheat are thinking of planting sorghum, which could still grow this year even in dry conditions. 16The wheat-growing problem is not only in Kansas. In the neighboring state of Oklahoma, farmers are also worried about their harvest. In the northern part of the state, close to Kansas, some farmers will only harvest about 35 percent of the wheat they planted last year. 17Clay Schemm owns land in western Kansas. He said planting wheat in the autumn and then seeing it fail to grow is "kind of like watching a loved one go through a terminal illness." 18The bad wheat season also hurts the businesses in the area, such as hotels and restaurants. When farmers decide not to harvest their wheat, fewer laborers come to the area to help. As a result, not as many people eat at restaurants or stay in hotels. 19Kansas State University's College of Agriculture also suffers. It normally gets about $1 million from the Kansas Wheat Commission for programs and research. However, that money comes from wheat sales. If less wheat is sold, less money comes in. 20"We may not be able to do as much," said the College of Agriculture's leader, Ernie Minton. "It slows down the whole lifecycle of wheat research." 21I'm Dan Friedell. 22Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 23______________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25survey -n. an activity where many people are asked the same question in an effort to gather data about what most people will do or think 26insurance -n. an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen 27bushel -n. a unit for measuring an amount of fruit and grain that is equal to about 35.2 liters in the U.S. and to about 36.4 liters in the U.K. 28abandon -v. to give up on something 29terminal -adj. a kind of disease that is not curable 30sorghum -n. a kind of tropical grass that is grown for food 31_______________________________________________________________________ 32We want to hear from you. Do you think the lack of wheat will cause a problem in the U.S. this year? 33Here is how our comment system works: 34Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.