Guillermo Breton's family had a front row seat to Dr. Norman Borlaug's groundbreaking research on wheat in the 1950's. The fifth-generation no-tiller describes how their work continues today in central Mexico, and is helping farmers better prepare for challenges ahead. The No-Till Passport series is brought to you by Martin Industries. 

The recent cold temperatures experienced during 31 March – 14 April 2022 were enough to cause freeze damage to winter wheat in parts of Kansas. The actual freeze damage will be region-specific depending on crop growth stage and minimum temperatures (some regions had a worst combination of temperatures and crop growth stage) and, within a region, field specific owing to many individual aspects such as crop density, residue level, etc. While there is nothing that we can do immediately, growers can prioritize fields where they sample for freeze damage symptoms depending on conditions that were more likely to result in freeze damage.

Legumes still can provide valuable N to today’s cropping systems. Legumes also contribute a non-nitrogen rotation effect due to addition of soil organic matter and improvement in soil health. Corn grown following alfalfa stands that are 2+ years old (and contained at least 50% alfalfa) require no nitrogen fertilizer on many soils. Red clover N credits are less than for alfalfa.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created uncertainty in global grain exports. This uncertainty has and likely will continue to result in short-term opportunity for US corn exports. This article conducts scenario analysis around US corn prices, examining plausible “what-if” events and predicting possible outcomes. Scenario analysis can provide a better understanding of upside opportunities as well as downside risks. A better understanding of the potential outcomes of these events can help in planning and managing should they occur.

It’s safe. It would help farmers deal with drought, support biodiversity, protect the environment and decrease a farms carbon footprint. It would help consumers cope with inflation and pay their food bills.
So why aren’t we growing genetically modified wheat?