Wheat production in the United States
Wheat is grown in almost every state in the United States, with winter wheat accounting for 70 to 80 percent of total production. The US hard red spring wheat crop is exported to over 70 countries each year, with 50% of total production valued at $9 billion.
History
Wheat was first introduced to the Western Hemisphere after the discovery of the New World in the 15th century. In 1830, it took four people and two oxen, working 10 hours a day, to produce 200 bushels of wheat. Steam-powered threshing machines replaced flails, and wheat production in the United States more than tripled between 1871 and 1921.
Geography
Winter wheat is raised by planting in the fall and harvesting in the spring in the southern United States states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, and Colorado. It is difficult to grow in parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota due to harsh cold weather conditions.
Classification and uses
Winter wheat and spring wheat are the two main types of wheat grown in the United States, depending on the climate. 36% of wheat is consumed domestically, 50% is exported, 10% is used for livestock feed, and 4% is used for seedlings.
Enrichment
In 1941, the wheat industry began to adopt voluntary widespread enrichment (fortification) of wheat flour with vitamins, folic acid, and iron; by 1942, about 75% of breads in the United States had been fortified, and mandatory fortification requirements were enacted in 1943.
Policy
The United States Food Administration set a basic price of $2.20 per bushel during World War I, and the McNaryu2013Haugen Farm Relief Bill failed in Congress. Between 1995 and 2012, the federal government paid over $39 billion in wheat subsidies.
Production
The United States is a major wheat-producing country, with output typically only surpassed by China, the European Union, and India. Wheat ranked third among U.S. field crops in terms of planted acreage and gross farm income during the first decade of the 2000s.
Exports
Despite the fact that the US’s share of the world market has decreased due to competition from other countries, producers continue to increase exports because domestic prices are not competitive. The PL 480 (Public Law 480) is one of the most widely criticized export policies in the world.
External links
Bin-buster: A Pictorial Story of the 1952 Wheat Crop – published by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture, 1952. Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wheat_production_in_the_United_States.”
Who brought wheat to America?
In the early 1500s, Spanish explorers brought wheat to Mexico, where it spread to the southwestern United States, and other explorers brought wheat grains to the eastern coast of the United States, where colonists u2014 including President George Washington u2014 grew it as one of their main cash crops.
Is wheat native to America?
Wheat is not native to North America; the wild grains from which it was bred were discovered in West Asia, particularly in Mesopotamia, the Levant, and the Middle East.
In which age did the production of wheat start?
Wheat was first cultivated in the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BCE, according to archaeological evidence. Wheat is a type of fruit known as a caryopsis, and it is grown on more land than any other food crop (220.4 million hectares in 2014).
Where does the US get its wheat?
North Dakota cultivated the most wheat in the United States in 2018, followed by Kansas and Montana.
What is the oldest grain in the world?
Farro Monococcum is the oldest grain that has survived to this day.
Who is the largest wheat producer in the world?
China is the world’s leading wheat producer, with 134,250 thousand tonnes produced in 2020, accounting for 20.66% of global wheat production, with the top five countries (India, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and Canada) accounting for 63.46%.
Is wheat illegal to grow in us?
Commercial wheat operations, which rely heavily on commercial pesticides and fertilizers for production, are often very traumatic to otherwise fertile land, making it illegal to grow wheat at home.
Did wheat grow in America?
Wheat is grown in almost every state in the US, and it is the most common cereal grain. Winter wheat accounts for 70 to 80 percent of total production in the US, with Kansas (10.8 million tons) and North Dakota (9.8 million tons) producing the most.
Where is most of the US wheat grown?
Agricultural wheat is grown in almost every state in the United States, with North Dakota, Kansas, and Montana ranking first, second, and third, respectively, in recent statistics.
Is wheat man made?
True, modern bread wheat is entirely a result of human intervention; it’s known as semi-dwarf wheat because the plant is much shorter and the grain is much smaller than its forerunners. Wheat domestication was a significant step in human society’s transition from a hunter-gatherer to an agrarian model.
Who first discovered wheat?
Missionaries from Mexico brought wheat to California in the late 1700s (Brigham 43).
What are the top 5 states for wheat production?
Kansas (467 million bushels), North Dakota (333 million bushels), Montana (213 million bushels), Washington (157 million bushels), and Oklahoma (136 million bushels) were the top wheat-producing states in 2016.
Who buys the most US wheat?
According to export data compiled by the US Department of Agriculture, Mexico remained the largest market for US wheat in 2020-21, with China, the Philippines, Japan, and the Republic of Korea rounding out the top five markets for US wheat in 2020-21, in order of import volume.