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Winter Wheat Acreage Lowest In 100 Years

ronhays
/
Flickr

Midwest farmers planted the smallest winter wheat crop in a century this Fall.

A worldwide glut of wheat and a bumper crop this summer sent wheat prices tumbling below three dollars a bushel.

Farmers got the message, according to Kansas Wheat Commission CEO Justin Gilpin.

“Some of the lowest prices we’ve seen certainly in a decade," Gilpin says. "I think that had a big impact on farmers’ planting decisions this Fall.”

With fewer acres planted to wheat, Gilpin says if the 2017 crop is plagued with bad weather or disease, concerns about supply could develop—though, at this point, wheat stocks are high.

Kansas is the number one state for hard red winter wheat, which is used in bread. Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and the Dakotas are also wheat states.