Warm and dry: A devastating combination for U.S. wheat crop The
U.S. winter wheat crop, already facing the worst conditions in
nearly three decades, is being hit with an early winter double-
whammy. Still suffering through one of the worst droughts in
history, wheat farmers are also having to deal with the warmest
conditions ever for early winter in the High Plains. In Kansas,
the top U.S. wheat producing state, 2012 ranks as the warmest on
record. The unseasonable warmth is causing young wheat plants to
try to grow at a time when they normally would be entering
dormancy for the winter, a condition in which the plant
essentially sleeps until spring, using little water or soil
nutrients. But the unrelenting drought that withered last
summer's corn and soybean crops has left the soil too dry to
support growth. The combination is a killer for young wheat
plants, adding stress to a crop that is already in poor shape.
The prolonged drought is weakening the young wheat plants' root
systems, which are needed to help