Farms.com Home   News

Kansas farmers abandon wheat fields after extreme drought

Farmers in Kansas, the biggest U.S. producer of wheat used to make bread, are abandoning their crops after a severe drought and damaging cold ravaged farms.

They are intentionally spraying wheat fields with crop-killing chemicals and claiming insurance payouts more than normal, betting the grain is not worth harvesting, Reuters found on a three-day tour of the state. Other growers are turning over dismal-looking fields to cattle for grazing.

Abandoning fields will lead to a smaller U.S. wheat supply in the world's No. 5 wheat exporter, with stocks seen falling to a 16-year low. High rates of abandonment deal an economic blow to farm towns and force wheat buyers to adjust procurement plans by buying the staple grain elsewhere.

Nationally, winter-wheat farmers plan to abandon 33% of the acres they planted, the highest percentage since World War I, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a May 12 report.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

The Corn Leafhopper is Back

Video: The Corn Leafhopper is Back

Ashleigh Faris, OSU Extension cropping systems entomologist and IPM coordinator, says the corn leafhopper is being reported in fields in Choctaw County. Dr. Faris explains why OSU researchers need help from corn producers scouting and sending in samples of the leafhopper to find effective management applications in controlling this pest.