An ever-declining water table on the Southern High Plains, coupled with drought, has growers looking at alternative water management plans and crops.
“If I take acres out of production, I’ll be watering wheat in the fall through the spring, and I won’t be watering those acres through the summer,” says Struve, who grows cotton and corn.
“We’re not necessarily planting wheat because we can make money, but because it allows us to have something on those acres instead of nothing,” he explains.
But I don’t have much choice this time.
I’ve either got to get some wheat planted, hope for some winter rain, not put much into it ,and make a little bit of a living — or if not, I’ll just use the wheat for cover.” While Struve’s 2017 wheat crop was a mixed bag of disappointing test weights and low yields due to the drought, he says he’s planting a new variety this year, Avery — new to him, at least.
“If we catch some winter and/or spring rains and the wheat looks like it’s going to make something, we’ll fertilize accordingly.
But in some cases, the crop still had good test weights, says Grain Marketer Brent Wilhelm, Ag Producer Co-op, at Olton.
“Less quantity sometimes makes better quality,” he says.
It just seems the way Mother Nature works.” While the grain looked small, test weights averaged above 60 pounds per bushel, while the first few samples the co-op received had protein levels rated at 12 percent or more.
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