A mere 20 years ago, cotton was cash in the South and farmers filled low spots with soybeans, leaving wheat as the great pauper—relegated to the worst acreage or simply not grown. Farmers often threw out wheat seed, tossed on two shots of fertilizer, put on 2,4-D as an afterthought and cut wheat with a resigned attitude: “It is what it is.” A good yield was 40 bu. per acre.
The king cotton era has faded, but despite the passage of time and hard economic realities, many farmers are raising wheat in a time warp, still shackled to minimal management.
Pete Hunter, Stovall Farms, Clarksdale, Miss., isn’t shy about harnessing wheat’s potential. Although Hunter knows the past highs of cotton production, he’s spent 12 years honing his wheat management with soil testing, tissue testing, timely fertilizer, aphid spraying, fungicide treatments, matching variety with soil and hitting the right planting population.
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