NEW ORLEANS — Louisiana's warm, wet winter wasn't so hot for winter wheat.
The figures aren't all in but it looks like a fair harvest, rather a great one, with yields probably 70 to 80 percent of last year's, LSU AgCenter agronomist Ed Twidwell said Monday.
"In early April, the stands looked good," he said. "But when the producers got into harvest, they said, 'Hey, it's not yielding what we thought it would."
Last year, he said, farmers got about 55 bushels per acre.
High prices last year prompted Louisiana farmers to planted 21 percent more winter wheat last fall than the previous year, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. About 290,000 acres were planted, up 50,000 from fall 2010.
The very dry fall probably hurt initial growth, said Twidwell. That was followed by wet weather in January and February, and a hot spring.
"Wheat is not a crop that likes wet soil," he said. He also noted that the wet winter may have kept growers from putting on as much nitrogen fertilizer as usual, while the hot spring may have matured the wheat too fast, making for small grains.
The harvest, which usually extends into early June, was completed about two weeks earlier than normal, he said.
The early harvest means farmers can consider another crop such as soybeans. "Though with temperatures in the 90s like they're predicting for the next week or so, it may work into people holding off a little," Twidwell said. "You don't want to plant soybeans and not get rain on them."
Historically, Louisiana farmers have planted about 100,000 to 150,000 acres in winter wheat, Twidwell said.
Over the past year, he said, prices have ranged from about $6 a bushel, a level at which Louisiana farmers' interest wanes, to $7 a bushel. "When it's up $7 or higher, there's a little more interest."