What's Happening?
Kentucky farmers harvested 19.8 million bushels of winter wheat during the summer of 2018, down seventeen percent from 2017. Yield is 66 bushels per acre, down eleven bushels from 2017. Farmers harvested 300,000 acres for grain, and another 150,000 acres were used as cover crop, cut as forage or abandoned. Kentucky ranks 18th in U.S. wheat production.
Read MoreThe National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) applauds the Senate and House of Representatives for their quick action and bipartisan votes on the Farm Bill conference report, and call on President Trump to sign the bill into law as quickly as possible.
Read MoreCommissioner Ryan Quarles announced recently in an open letter that dicamba would still be available for growers with a new record-keeping system for dealers, fine structure for producers and without an application cut-off date in the 2019 season.
Read MoreFor wheat, the supply estimates have been mostly finalized by October with adjustments in January’s final projections for the crop-year. USDA projects the 2018 wheat yield at 47.6 bushels/acre, a 1.3-bushel increase over 2017, on 39.6 million harvested acres. USDA projects total wheat production at 1.88 billion bushels. The larger wheat crop is off-set by a smaller carry-in and reduced imports with supply projected to increase by 45 million bushels from 2017-18 (Table 1).
Read MoreView the winners of the 2018 Kentucky Wheat Yield Contest. Despite the poor weather, several growers bested the average wheat yield this year.
Read MoreThe Virginia Tech barley program is significantly diverse with breeding efforts focused on the development of superior, widely adapted, high yielding winter barley cultivars and a major focus on the incorporation of value-added traits geared towards the development of new markets.
Read MoreTraditionally in Kentucky, irrigation is unnecessary in winter wheat due to the high precipitation usually experienced in the state. However, with bouts of droughts becoming increasingly frequent in recent years, irrigation is serving as an additional method to ensure crop success for many producers.
Read MoreHybrid rye trials were established at Princeton and Lexington to compare seeding rates, growth regulators and fungicide applications. The growth regulator was supposed to reduce lodging, while the fungicide was supposed to reduce Fusairum head blight (head scab).
Read MoreThe overall objective of the research trials were to develop the best recommendations for managing Fusarium head blight (FHB; also known as scab) and the associated mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON; also known as vomitoxin) with foliar fungicides. The specific objective of each trial differed, and details and results of these trials are provided below.
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Small Grains Summary Report today from the Small Grains Production Survey conducted earlier this month.
Read MoreCompared to last year there is a modest increase in wheat prices, and a significant decrease in soybean prices. These changes will make planting wheat more attractive relative to last year. The following analysis attempts to quantify the extent of the relative change in profitability for crops harvested in 2019.
Read MoreAs Kentucky grain producers look ahead to 2019, they may want to consider adding wheat seeding to their plans this fall. The combination of wheat followed by double-crop soybeans is appearing to be more profitable for the upcoming marketing year compared to a corn-soybean rotation, said Todd Davis, University of Kentucky agricultural economist.
Read MoreKy Small Grain Growers voted to fund the following research and grower education projects last month, for a total investment of $286,441, in the 2018-2019 growing season. That brings the total Kentucky small grain research funding to $3.3 Million over the past 27 years. New projects this year include several focused on Kentucky rye production due to increased interest from local distilleries.
Read MoreWith thinking about wheat planting has come the usual, and less usual, questions about fall soil fertility. This article is prompted by recent questions about one of the less usual topics, in-furrow starter fertilizer for wheat. What, how, why/when and why/when not? Photo from K-State.
Read MoreThe USDA reports reveal the potential for a bullish wheat market based on declining U.S. stocks as well as reduced stocks and production in major exporting countries.
Read MoreItalian or annual ryegrass (Lolium perenne L. ssp. multiflorum ) has been a major weed issue for Kentucky wheat growers for many years. The introduction of ALS-inhibiting herbicides that had selectivity on ryegrass brought about a great tool for con-trolling ryegrass in wheat post-emergence.
Read MoreOne of the most critical management decisions Kentucky wheat producers must make in late summer/early fall is choosing which wheat varieties to grow. Even though Kentucky’s climate is extremely variable from year to year, there are several must have traits: yield and test weight are always at the top of the list, but disease and lodging resistance are essential as well.
Read MoreThe University of Kentucky is holding a Late Season Field School on September 6, 2018. Sign in begins at 8:30 am and the workshop will run from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.(CT).
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is surveying Kentucky producers for its County Agricultural Production Survey (CAPS) small grains survey. The survey will collect information on total acres planted and harvested, and yield and production of small grains crops. CAPS will provide the data needed to estimate acreage and production of winter wheat in Kentucky.
Read MoreThe University of Kentucky Small Grain Variety Testing Program evaluates wheat and barley varieties that are commercially available or may soon be available to farmers. Annual variety performance testing provide farmers, seed producers, extension agents and consultants with current, unbiased information to help them select the varieties best adapted to their locality and individual requirements.
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