"Wheat fields . . . wide as the ocean" -- Michigan, 1838

Winter wheat fields west of Buchanan, Berrien County, stretching to the horizon [photo, Micki Glueckert, July 14, 2013].

"At Portage Prairie,  . . . a continuous field of wheat and corn stretched away . . . scarce broken by even a tree or a house and seemingly as wide as the ocean. . . . We returned to town delighted and astonished by the beauty of our neighborhood."

Winter wheat harvest in 2013, with more trees perhaps than in 1838 [photo, Micki Glueckert, July 14, 2013].

The quote from the July 19, 1838 Niles, Michigan Intelligencer* describes land that just a few years earlier had been part of the great "Galien Woods" filled with walnut, oaks, and maples. In 2013, one hundred and seventy-five years later, much of the county has gone back to woodlands or been planted in orchards and vineyards. The fields that stretch along the country roads still grow corn, but much more soy than wheat fills the acres. At the end of July, 2013, My sister Micki, husband Jim and I set off along the same back roads to photograph the fields of wheat that had just been harvested.

                  Tri-L-Farms, southwest Berrien County, Michigan [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

The land doesn't rest for long. Micki pointed out that some of the winter wheat fields had been planted with soybeans, for a second crop during the season, as well as to replenish the nitrogen in the soil.

A wheat field that was harvested a few weeks ago has had soybeans planted in the rows for a second crop for this year. [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013]

Young soybean plant in harvested wheat field.  [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

Another sight along the small roads was the Mt. Zion cemetery. 

 Mt. Zion Cemetery, Berrien County, Michigan, with wheat field across the road.  [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

 Gravestone of Nancy Pooler, died August 2, 1819. That was very early for the area; it didn't start being really settled until about 1830. [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

Further down the road we found a field with cattle, and nursing calves. Much of the wheat grown in the area is used for feeding livestock. Micki says that wheat is too expensive for the poultry that they raise; the birds must settle for corn.

Cow and calf, both probably destined to be someone's dinner [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

For dinner that evening, we had homemade noodles, with flour from someone else's fields.

                          Sam White's fresh egg noodles  [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013]

                Sunset, from U.S. 12 near Portage Road [Teri Carns photo, July 29, 2013].

* The quote was taken from Walter Hawes, Story of Buchanan, re-published in the August 8, 2013 Berrien County Record.

Wheat harvest in Southwest Michigan, July 14, 2013

               Chickens eating corn because wheat is too expensive in Michigan [Photo, Micki Glueckert].

The harvest continues in Berrien County in the Southwest corner of Michigan. Our local correspondent Micki Glueckert got photos.

                             Wheat field, Berrien County, July 14, 2013 [Photo, Micki Glueckert].


Micki says, "Caught one guy harvesting yesterday. A lot of the other fields must have been done earlier; I thought they would wait another day because we had had so much rain."

                            Wheat Straw bales in England, August 2006 [Photo, Wikimedia].

"I asked the guy who owns Buchanan Feed Mill why they round baled the straw. He said the big dairy farms bale the straw after the wheat is harvested in round bales, drop them in a big hopper that chops the straw up and mixes it in their feed which is I believe a high protein feed that needs some fiber added.  The straw has no nutritive value but slows the feed down so the gut can extract more good stuff from the feed. Some guys also drop a bale in a chopper that shreds the straw and blows it around the barn, for bedding. It makes a lot less work with the big round bales. I remember our neighbor trying round bales of hay for the horses. They they didn't like it, and the neighbor needed a chainsaw to cut them up as you couldn't just pull the hay out without a great deal of work."

Wheat harvest, 2013

                                          Wheat harvest [Creative Commons Photo].

As of July 14, 2013, the wheat harvest around the country was progressing well.

All Aboard Wheat Harvest posted a July 2 summary:
"Texas- Small grain harvest continued across the state. While some producers continued to graze cattle on previously damaged wheat acres, others plowed fields and prepared for fall crops. Wheat harvest was 73 percent complete.
Oklahoma- Harvest of all small grains made substantial progress. Wheat harvest was 84 percent complete by Sunday, 10 points behind the five-year average.
Colorado- Seventy-nine percent of the state’s winter wheat crop was turning color by week’s end, up from 41 percent the previous week. Twenty-two percent of the crop was ripe while 7 percent has been harvested. Condition ratings for winter wheat declined last week with the majority rated very poor to poor. Sixty-seven percent of the spring wheat was headed, compared with 64 percent last year and the average of 51 percent.
Kansas- The winter wheat crop was turning color on 98 percent of the acreage, behind 100 a year ago and 100 average. Eighty-five percent of the crop was ripe, behind 100 last year and 92 average. The crop was 57 percent harvested, well behind last year’s 99 and 67 average. Condition rated 25 percent very poor, 18 poor, 24 fair, 25 good, and 8 excellent.
Nebraska- Wheat conditions rated 24 percent very poor, 26 poor, 33 fair, 16 good, and 1 excellent. Wheat turning color was 75 percent, behind 100 last year and 82 average. Wheat ripe was 11 percent, well behind 85 last year and 28 average.
South Dakota- Winter wheat jointed was at 99 percent. Headed was at 93 percent, behind 100 last year and 96 average. Turning color was at 3 percent, well behind 95 last year and 46 average. Condition rated 28 percent very poor, 27 poor, 30 fair, 14 good, and 1 excellent. Spring wheat jointed was at 91 percent, behind 2012 at 100 but near 93 average. Headed was at 52 percent, well behind last year at 99 and 66 average. Condition rated 1 percent very poor, 4 poor, 39 fair, 46 good, and 10 excellent.
North Dakota- Spring wheat seeding was 95 percent complete, behind last year at 100 and 99 average. Emerged was 85 percent, behind last year at 100 and 98 average. Jointed was at 44 percent, behind last year at 100 and 78 average. Headed was at 7 percent, well behind last year at 79 and 29 average. Condition rated 1 percent very poor, 3 poor, 20 fair, 62 good, and 14 excellent. Durum wheat seeding was 96 percent complete, behind 100 for 2012 but near 94 average. Emerged was 83 percent, behind last year at 100 and 91 average. Jointed was at 39 percent, behind last year at 99 and 64 average. Headed was at 2 percent, behind last year at 64 and 22 average. Condition rated 0 percent very poor, 3 poor, 17 fair, 76 good, and 4 excellent.
Montana- Winter wheat is developing ahead of the 5-year average with 98 percent in boot stage and 87 percent headed. Spring wheat development is behind last year 50 percent in boot stage and 15 percent headed."

In Michigan, winter wheat was producing at about 92 bushels an acre in Ottawa County by July 14, 2013. The photo is from Berrien County, where wheat is grown mostly for feed for livestock.

                        June 30, 2013 Southwest Michigan wheat field [Micki Glueckert].

In Ohio, the July 14 yield was about 71 bushels per acre in Erie County (closest county to Ottawa County, Ohio, where the photo was taken).

                   June 30, 2013, winter wheat in Northwest Ohio [Betsy Slotnick].

From National Association of Wheat Growers, one important piece of news is that South Korea has satisfied itself that U.S. wheat does not contain any genetically modified grain. This had become an issue in April when GMO wheat from Monsanto was discovered growing in an Oregon wheat field. Because Monsanto had stopped testing that strain of seed about ten years earlier, no-one had a good explanation for its presence, causing concerns that other U.S. fields could be contaminated.      

The National Association of Wheat Growers also reported on national statistics for the year to date. Bottom line: although wheat was selling in June on the commodities markets for $7.13/bushel, $.55 less than in May, the price was still $.43 better than the June 2012 market. One percent more acreage was planted in 2013 than in 2012. The winter wheat harvest was a little behind schedule this year, and the spring wheat growth was also a bit slow.

The New York Times, a week ago, picked up a Reuters piece about the possible merger of Cargill and ConAgra wheat milling operations, that would "control about one-third of U.S. capacity, dwarfing all competitors in size and market reach."  . . .  Not all U.S. wheat is processed within the country of course. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that "958 million bushels of U.S. wheat will be used for food in the 2013/14 marketing year, which started on June 1, while 975 million bushels will be exported." Nonetheless, the proposed merger would give the new joint venture about one-third of the market, and leave the next largest market share in the hands of Archer Daniels Midland Co. with its current 17% of the wheat milling capacity in the U.S.

                  Flour mill, McConnells Mill State Park, Pennsylvania [Creative Commons Photo].

Wheat reports from the Midwest, spring 2013

Winter wheat field, Berrien County, Michigan, mid-April, 2013. [Photo by Micki Glueckert]

This spring, as every spring for thousands of years, people have looked at the sky, and felt the ground for warmth, and  wondered how soon they could plant. In some areas, they look at their winter wheat crops, the only thing growing during the first spring days. 

For a blog about wheat, it makes sense to follow the wheat as it grows around the U. S., and the world. Wheat is something of an experimental crop in Alaska fields, so I sweet-talked a couple of my Midwest sisters into taking some pictures of winter wheat fields in Michigan and Ohio. Throughout this summer and fall of 2013, I plan to post regularly about wheat crops and harvest around the world.

Wheat, unlike most grains, can be planted both in the spring and the fall. Called 'winter wheat" when it's sowed in the mild autumn days, it goes dormant over the winter. As soon as the fields warm up, the leaves turn green and begin to grow again. Moistened by the snows, and ripening early, winter wheat escapes the scorching midsummer days.

                Winter wheat field with grain silos, Berrien County, Michigan April 28, 2013 [Photo by Micki Glueckert]

Southwest Michigan winter wheat

I grew up in Berrien County, Michigan, noted for its fruit orchards, and (these days) vineyards. Turns out that wheat of any sort is not a prime crop there -- the weather's too wet, usually. The farmers who grow it use it mainly for livestock feed. A Michigan State web site with information from 1996 and 1997 showed that the county had somewhere between 500 and 14,999 acres planted in winter wheat in 1996 and 1997, and a harvest of 51 to 69 bushels per acres in 1997. A data site for Berrien County noted that farmers harvested just 2,617 acres of wheat (which might have included some spring wheat) in 2011, compared to 41,400 acres of corn and 51,400 acres of soybeans. The sister who lives on a poultry farm there will be sending along progress reports for Wheatavore.

Northwest Ohio winter wheat

Another sister who lives in Ottawa County at the northwest corner of  Ohio, has also been pressed into service (I'm working on the Iowa sister for more photos). Ottawa County near Toledo has its own share of winter wheat fields. But just as with Berrien County, the Ottawa County land use map shows that corn and soy fields cover much more acreage than winter wheat.

                                   Winter wheat field near Genoa, Ohio, April 20, 2013 -- on the dry side [photo by Betsy Slotnick].

                              Another winter wheat field on May 19, 2013, also dry, but the wheat's much taller [photo by Betsy Slotnick].


We'll be reporting regularly on these wheat fields and others -- their weather, the pests, the commodity prices on the markets, and more. For instance, this site shows the prices for wheat delivered at different times in the future, and tells who's buying what, for May 23, 2013:

Latest Brugler Wheat Report

Wheat futures are trading 9 to 10 cents higher at midday in Chicago. Japan is tendering for 122,222 MT of milling wheat this week, of which 67,897 MT is specified US origin white, HRW and DNS wheat. Results are due on Thursday. Ag Canada raised projected Canadian wheat production to 29.4 MMT, going above the USDA estimate of 29 MMT which was in turn based on Stats Canada (different agency) data.  Algeria bought 50,000 MT of soft wheat for August from the EU. USDA is expected to show net US weekly export sales of 400-700,000 MT for last week. May 31 is the last day for old crop wheat to be shipped.

None of them are in the market for Berrien County wheat, or Alaska wheat either, but it provides another perspective on one of the world's oldest crops.