Kansas Wheat Prices Soar as Drought-Plagued Farmers Miss Out

Wheat prices have skyrocketed in recent months due to disruptions in grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine, which together supply 27% of the world's wheat. This has led to a surge in demand for American-grown wheat, particularly hard red winter wheat, which is used in most bread flour. The cash price for this type of wheat rose nearly 59% year over year to $9.42 a bushel as of September 1.

However, many Kansas farmers are struggling to capitalize on the higher prices because their own crop yields have plummeted due to severe drought conditions. The state's wheat production fell by 45% from last year, with farmers abandoning nearly 900,000 acres without harvesting them. As a result, the fields that did yield crops produced only 33 bushels per acre compared to last year's 51.

Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin noted that the expenses for farmers are likely to outweigh the revenue from this year's yields. Meanwhile, Missouri, which grows soft red winter wheat, also experienced a bad year, but its crop fell by only about 22%.