Despite Grim Attitudes Towards Wheat, Farmers Need a Game Plan in Place

 

 

Since the last week or two of August, Extension Small Grains Specialist Dr. Dave Marburger has heard planters are starting to roll across Oklahoma as farmers looking to establish their fall wheat pastures are eagerly getting their seed in the ground. He told Radio Oklahoma’s Farm Director Ron Hays today that in terms of production, Oklahoma had a great harvest this year, but with wheat prices what they are and predictions they could be below production costs next year, he says it’s hard to get excited about it. Moving forward though, Dr. Marburger says farmers should try to focus on what their objectives are for their wheat crop this year, be it for forage, grain only or dual-purpose, and make decisions based off that.

 

“It kind of depends on where we’re at in the state,” Marburger said. “If we’re in the Northcentral region guys are going to stick with that dual-purpose system. In other parts - say the western part of the state - they are going to focus more on the cattle. They’re going to focus more on forage and probably not use a dual-purpose system.”

 

While farmers planting a grain-only crop this year have a little more time to think things over, producers looking to get a fall wheat pasture going, need to act fast. Dr. Marburger says to keep your basic agronomics in mind as you prepare to start planting, such as your planting date, seeding rates, seeding depths and of course selecting the right variety mix. To help make an informed decision about the varieties you choose to plant, he suggests visiting OSU Extension’s Wheat Variety Test Data website.