| Description |
Wheat, Triticum Aestivum, is a type of annual grass grown for its highly nutritious and useful grain. It is one of the top three most produced crops, along with corn and rice. The wheat grown in the United States falls into two categories: winter wheat, which is planted in the fall and matures in the summer, and spring wheat, which is planted after the danger of frost is over and also matures in the summer.
Though Washington farmers grow four classes of wheat, soft white wheat accounts for over 85 percent of total production. Two distinct types are grown: club and common. Club wheats have shorter, more compact heads than common types. The two are often marketed as a mixture called Western White, one of the world's most popular wheat mixes, available only from the Pacific Northwest. In addition, hard wheat classes are grown and include hard red winter, hard red spring, and hard white wheat (in limited production). |
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| Harvesting and Yields |
When wheat is ready for harvest, the heads of the grain start to bend the stalks with the weight of the kernels. This, in combination with the golden color, indicates that it is time to harvest the wheat. After harvest, the grain is separated from the stalks and chaff. Wheat stalks are used in a variety of applications: mulch, construction material, and animal bedding, for example.
An average crop yield is 64.8 bushels / acre. A bushel of wheat weighs 60 pounds with the following conversions of: 33.33 bushels to a short ton and 36.74 bushels to a metric ton. |
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