Wheat Questions

I have raised wheat. Harvested wheat wouldn't pass a test at the elevator so I sold it for hog feed. I got the seed from the local F/S coop. It yielded good, but had to.take the filler bars out of the cylinder to get it thru the combine.

Better to raise wheat after soybeans as the crop comes off earlier and benefit from nitrogen soybeans leave. If you want to summer fallow that is a good way to keep weeds down without spraying but most farmers can't afford to leave ground bare that long. I don't know of spring planted wheat in Michigan as most varieties are Soft Red in southern Mich and soft white wheat grown in the Thumb of Mich. Most sow wheat from September 20 to October 25. Check with your local farm supply as they should be able to give you input costs. In my area not much wheat was planted last fall as excessive moisture prevented many from planting. Many farmers told me they can't afford wheat as input costs are high versus return. The farmers that do raise wheat either have livestock and need the straw or sell the straw. One farmer told me the straw was what he made money on wheat. Beware of vomitoxin in wheat as elevators discount for that . Vomitoxin is a toxin that comes from mold on the wheat  during wet weather shortly before harvest. There is a mold fumigant that can be sprayed on the wheat that helps prevent but application needs to be timely and added cost.One elevator operator told me there is a lot of wheat in storage so the price is down. Once the wheat is used and the processors fear a shortage the price will come back and more wheat will be grown.

Thanks for the replies, I was wondering about the wheat after corn scenario as far as timing but never gave a thought to the "fertilizer" issue.

Often times wheat after corn taken off for silage.

If I were to do it after corn, it would be after silage corn, not grain corn.  First of all, the timing would be WAY off in this area, and second, too much risk of Fusarium in corn residue.  Yeah, you can spray for it......as if there's margin in wheat to afford the hassle! 

ac fleet wrote: We grew wheat here for several years, after beans and fertilize heavy, (starter in fall, then 200 pounds of urea in early spring) had 128 bu. yield, almost double that of corn. We used a 3 year rotation. The wheat was the only crop that ever made any real money for us!