TAPPAHANNOCK—Virginia’s wheat farmers are dealing with substantial crop losses this season after a combination of extended spring dry conditions and unseasonable late frost damaged fields across the state, according to findings from an agricultural assessment conducted on May 28.
During the annual inspection that covered 10 farming operations, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation grain manager Robert Harper reported that wheat farms in the Northern Neck region showed an average yield of 69 bushels per acre, while Middle Peninsula operations averaged 47 bushels per acre.
The assessment marks the 11th consecutive year that Virginia has participated in the regional Mid-Atlantic wheat evaluation, which encompasses farming operations across Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and Virginia Cooperative Extension coordinated this year’s inspection alongside the Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center. During visits to 10 farming operations spanning the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula areas, grain purchasers, processing facilities, researchers and agricultural industry professionals evaluated crop yield expectations, examined grain quality and monitored disease conditions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service projects Virginia farmers will bring in 3.1 million bushels of winter wheat during this harvest season. Last year’s Virginia harvest yielded 4.6 million bushels thanks to expanded acreage and better crop performance.
Extended periods of temperatures below freezing inflicted major damage on wheat crops during a critical development phase, according to Robbie Longest, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Essex County.
“At about 28 to 29 degrees for several consecutive hours, you can have very severe yield losses due to floret sterility,” Longest explained. “We had that a lot in this area.”
Longest indicated that damage in some fields is so extensive that harvesting may not occur. Consequently, some producers are considering alternative options for their damaged crops. They are investigating markets for bundled wheat straw sold for autumn decorative purposes or construction industry applications, which could help compensate for decreased grain production.
“You’re going to see harvested acreage depressed even further,” Longest said, pointing to fields where entire sections may instead be replanted into other crops. Similar conditions were last seen in 2020, though Longest said such events historically occur only once every few decades.
The sequence of unusually warm February conditions followed by delayed freezing temperatures created particularly harmful circumstances, speeding up crop growth before subjecting plants to damaging cold weather.
“Timing is everything with wheat, and this year proved how little margin for error farmers have,” said Harper. “You can do everything right—plant on time, manage for a strong stand—but in the end, weather is one factor you can’t control. A late frost like this can undo a lot of hard work in just a few hours.”
Wheat producers are planning to harvest 60,000 acres for grain production throughout Virginia’s 95 counties during June and July.
Media: Contact Harper at 804-290-1105.
