Heat Stress Hits North Dakota Wheat Crops Amid Price Surge
North Dakota wheat farmers are facing heat stress in their crops just as prices surge to a three-year high, according to Claims Journal. The state is a key US wheat-growing region.
Farmers surveyed during the Wheat Quality Council's annual spring and durum wheat crop tour reported that their fields are stressed due to scorching temperatures. Grower Jim Pellman stated that his crops were 'holding out' despite the heat, but added that it was still uncertain how they would turn out. The USDA estimates total American wheat production this season as the lowest since 1970-71.
The global supply disruptions caused by war in Ukraine and Russia have sent futures soaring nearly 40% this year. However, the current volatility in the market is not a new development for farmers like Pellman, who has seen it before since 2022. 'The price of wheat goes up one day and it's back down the next, so it's kind of getting old news,' he said.