DeKalb County’s third largest crop is currently being harvested. Local farmers who grow winter wheat are in the midst of harvesting this year’s crop. In an average year, about 6,000 acres of wheat is harvested in DeKalb County.
DeKalb County wheat farmers, like Tracy Jones, lost a significant amount of wheat this year due to the harsh winter. He said it was only the second time that he recalls losing wheat to winter kill. He is shown in his 2013 field of wheat.
Wheat acres reduced in 2014 to winter kill. This year is not an average year for the locally grown wheat crop. The harsh winter weather destroyed a significant amount of wheat acreage prompting farmers to remove the dead wheat and replace it with corn this spring.
Tracy Jones, who farms west of Sycamore, had seeded about 95 acres of wheat last fall. This summer he had planned to harvest the grain and use the wheat straw for both roughage and bedding for his beef cattle. Instead, in the spring he baled cornstalks remaining on stubble from last year’s corn crop for feed and bedding and then turned the dead wheat ground into corn. “This is only the second time I’ve lost wheat to winter kill,” said Jones. The grain and cattle farmer finds value in growing wheat for his feedlot cattle. Once the wheat crop is harvested he uses the acreage for manure applications.
Ben Drake’s wheat acreage also was impacted. He planted 55 acres of wheat last fall and only 15 acres survived the brutal winter. He also had cornstalks baled for feed/bedding for his beef cattle to compensate for the reduction in wheat straw. “The last time we lost our wheat crop was about eight years ago,” said Drake, a rural Sycamore farmer. With the wheat acreage he has, Drake expects to harvest below average yields this year. He plans to sell the wheat to the local elevator and then have the straw baled for his cattle.
About DeKalb County winter wheat: Soft red winter wheat is produced in DeKalb County and throughout Illinois. It does not have the level of protein and gluten required for yeast breads. Some of the uses are: flat breads, cereals, cakes, cookies, pretzels, pastries, pancakes, crackers, part of all-purpose flour, and wheat germ. Other uses include pet foods and glues.
Farmers grow wheat for various reasons: It spreads out the risk with different crops. Diversifying the crop rotation reduces pest problems. Labor and machinery needs are spread out. It provides income in July to pay spring bills. The ground cover over the winter lessens chances of soil erosion. It provides straw as a by-product used for livestock. It serves as a cover crop. Wheat is seeded once the corn or soybean crop has been harvested, usually in October. After the initial fall growth, wheat is dormant throughout the winter. In a normal year, growth resumes in late winter and early spring. Wheat begins to head about mid-May. Depending on the year, harvest occurs between early to mid-July in DeKalb County wheat fields.
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