Corn, soybeans, wheat line up for big double-crop acreage in Southeast

February 18th, 2013

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Category: Grains, Oilseeds

(Southeast Farm Press) – All the cards seem lined up in the Southeast for plenty of early wheat and perhaps a record number of double-crop soybean acres in the region.

How many acres of wheat were planted in the Southeast last fall and how many acres of double-crop soybeans will go in the spring and summer is directly related to how many acres of corn were planted early or on time and harvested early or on time last year.

Most growers in the Upper Southeast had a good year with corn. They planted on time and generally got their crop harvested early.

In the Carolinas and Virginia, it was clear by September that the potential for a big wheat crop was there. In North Carolina, for example, the 2012-13 wheat crop could come close to a million acres, according to veteran crop watcher and Executive Director of the North Carolina Small Grains Association, Dan Weathington.

Randy Weisz in North Carolina, Wade Thomason in Virginia and David Gunter in South Carolina have done an outstanding job of stressing to growers the many benefits of planting wheat on time, but not too early in the Southeast, and it appears a majority of growers did just that.

While many growers could have planted wheat in time for an early spring harvest, the risks are too great.

When wheat is planted early in the Upper Southeast, historically, it has been a great risk from frost and freeze damage during the time the crop is in its most vulnerable growth stage for winter damage.

So far, winter weather in the region has been near ideal for early wheat growth, which, if Mother Nature comes through, should mean a timely wheat harvest this spring.

Perhaps more importantly, nothing on the global horizon indicates markets will be anything other than good for corn, wheat and soybeans. If prices remain stable, a wheat-soybean double-crop will have the potential to rival corn for profitability.

Factored into the equation is the dogged determination of the livestock industry in the region to help growers produce more grain for livestock feed. Demand is never a bad thing when it comes to off-setting the risks involved with growing any crop.

With those cards on the table, it appears things are set for a record or near record double-crop with wheat and soybeans.

 

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