SOLUTIONS SPECIALIST — Brian Ganske, John Deere Crop Solutions Specialist, inspects a stalk of wheat in a field of irrigated wheat near Andale, Kan. Ganske inspected fields in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas as part of the Small Grain Solutions wheat tour. Small Grain Solutions is sponsored by High Plains Journal and John Deere. (Journal photo by Doug Rich.)

Small Grain Solutions, sponsored by High Plains Journal and John Deere, made stops in Wichita, Kan.; Clinton, Okla.; and Amarillo, Texas, the first week of April. Brian Ganske, John Deere crop solutions specialist, stopped to inspect several fields along the route and talked with local farmers.

On April 4 Ganske scouted two fields near Andale, Kan. At first glance it looked like these fields were suffering from nitrogen deficiency. But that might not be the case with these particular fields.

“It might be that these fields had enough nitrogen but the wheat is growing so fast right now that it can’t keep up,” Ganske said. One field had streaks of lighter and darker wheat indicating problems with fertilizer application. Ganske said to make sure your equipment is making an even application across the field.

Some of the fields were beginning to turn a little bit blue, which is an indicator of drought stress. At that point in time most of the fields were in need of a good rain in the next week to 10 days.

On day two the Small Grain Solutions wheat tour made stops to look at fields near Okeene, Okla., and Geary, Okla. These fields showed even more drought stress. Conventionally tilled fields were suffering more than no-till fields.

There was a small amount of cheat in some heavily grazed wheat fields, but overall the wheat appeared to be healthy.

Near Geary the tour stopped to scout a field of canola. This crop in increasingly popular with Southern Plains farmers as a good rotation to break up the weed and insects cycle in continuous wheat. This particular field was beginning to show some drought stress just like the wheat crop. On a crop tour that went from Amarillo to Canyon, west to Umbarger and on to Hereford and then north to nearly Vega, the scouts found one overwhelming condition—drought.

“Amarillo is dry and the wheat’s at a critical stage,” Ganske said. “We’re just about at the same place we were 2 years ago.”

One local John Deere salesman remarked that you know it’s dry when local merchants in town hang large banners across their buildings asking passersby to “Pray for rain.” Amarillo hasn’t had more than a full inch of measurable precipitation since October. In February there were some brief, powdery snows, but those blew away before they could soak into the fields.

The tour saw dryland wheat turning blue, quickly turning brown. Some farmers had already asked insurance adjusters to allow them to till up their wheat in hopes of double cropping sorghum. With a limited soil moisture profile, the more profitable cotton wouldn’t make a crop. Even a double crop of sorghum will only work if the area gets a rain— and soon.

Just about the only shining hope for producers is if they have available irrigation for their wheat acres, Ganske said. Or, if they have been practicing no-till for a few years.

“We see a lot on this tour, and the planting date is different from Wichita to here,” Ganske said. However, he continued, if you consider conventional tillage versus no-till, there’s one thing that crosses state borders. The water savings with no-till will help in years like this when there’s no outside precipitation. Farmers in the Amarillo area are starting to practice some minimum tillage, but with their history of grazing cattle on winter wheat they have to be concerned with compaction.

Still, in a year with limited precipitation, it’s worth considering for the region, Ganske said.