By Josh Sosland (World Grain), 02/01/2019 — In a Dec. 6 posting, Kansas Wheat indicated wheat acreage in the state will likely be down from 2018; in fact, planted area may be the smallest in 100 years. Wet weather during planting season has been identified as a culprit in keeping growers from their fields. But 2018 is hardly the first year rainy or snowy weather has interfered with wheat growers during planting season — many more influences have brought about wheat area atrophy in Kansas and across the United States.
One factor gaining attention has been the sluggish improvement in wheat yields versus those for corn and soybeans. The second reason comes from the emergence of Russia and Ukraine as major grain exporters. While the nations have been gaining prominence as exporters for many years, the transformative heights achieved over the past few bear note.