Wheat

Growing Wheat
In the summer, wheat producers prepare the soil for planting. The plow turns the soil over and kills all the weeds. When the soil is ready for planting, the farmer uses a grain drill to plant the seed.• Hard Red Winter Wheat is planted usually in September or early October when the soil has sufficient moisture to germinate the seed.
• The wheat plant will grow about six inches before the first frost then the plants will stop growing. This is called the dormant period. In some areas cattle graze on the young wheat plants during this time. The plants are not damaged by proper grazing and will grow back.
• The winter wheat plant will resume its growth in the spring. The head of the wheat plant, which contains the kernels, develops at the tip of the stem. The stem grows rapidly, pushing the head up and out of the top leaf sheath.
• After the head emerges, flowering occurs and the kernels begin to develop. Most wheat plants grow between two and four feet tall.
• After the kernels have fully developed, the leaves and stem fade from dark green to a golden brown and the kernels quickly dry. At this time the wheat is ripe and nearly ready for harvest.
• Winter wheat is harvested in May and is usually finished by late July. The farmer uses a combine to quickly harvest the crop once the kernels have dried to 15% moisture or less. The combine cuts the stalks and separates the kernel from the rest of the plant.
• Farmers face many challenges like weather, insects and fungus that may diminish a once profitable wheat crop.

Wheat Processing
• After the wheat is harvested from the field and loaded onto trucks, it is usually transported to a local grain elevator where it is unloaded and put in storage bins. If the wheat is sold, it will be loaded onto railcars or on trucks where it is shipped to its buyer’s destination. Some wheat is then loaded onto ships for export.
• Wheat that is sold for food or feed is taken to a mill. There are four major steps in the flour milling process:

- Cleaning: First, the wheat is cleaned by machines that remove impurities such as weed seeds, dirt and small stones. A giant magnet removes any metal pieces that might have shaken loose from the farm machinery.
- Tempering: Moisture then is applied to the kernel which toughens the bran coat and causes it to separate from the endosperm.
- Grinding: The tempered wheat is then fed to the mill, where the kernel is cracked and ground by passing it through a series of rollers. The wheat is sifted to separate the fine flour particles from the coarser endosperm particles and bran. The fine particles become flour and the remaining that is not bran , known as the middlings , are removed and used in livestock feed.
- Enrichment: The final step, the miller bleaches the flour and adds B vitamins, as well as iron, to the flour before it is packaged.

• The rest of the wheat is shipped off to other processors to be used in animal feed or other industrial products.
• Some wheat is bought directly from farmers, or buyers may purchase wheat already in storage.

There are two types of wheat planted in the U.S.
• Winter wheat – planted in September and harvested the following summer
• Spring wheat – planted in April or May and harvested in August or September

Wheat Kernel PDF

The wheat kernel is the seed from which the plant grows. Each tiny seed contains three distinct parts that are separated during the milling process to produce flour.

Germ – 2.5% of the kernel weight
- Embryo of the seed
- Separated from white flour
- Included in whole wheat flour
- Available separately

Endosperm – 83% of the kernel weight
- Source of white flour

Bran – 14.5% of the kernel weight
- Included in whole wheat flour
- Available separately
- Separated from white flour

Varieties PDF

• There are two general types of wheat, Winter and Spring, reflecting the time of year the seed is planted.
• Winter wheat is 70-80% of U.S. production
• There are several hundred varieties of wheat produced in the United States, all of which fall into one of six recognized classes.
- Classes are determined by time of year they are planted and harvested, hardness, color and shape of kernels.
• Hard Red Winter and Hard Red Spring
- Produces high-grade flour used to make bread, hamburger buns and biscuits.
• Hard White and Soft White
- Soft wheat that produces flour used for cereals, cookies and cakes.
• Durum
- Contains the most protein and produces a course, golden amber product called semolina that is used to make premium pasta products like spaghetti noodles and macaroni.
• Soft Red Winter
- Produces flour that is desirable for baked goods that have a tender, flaky or crisp texture, like cakes, doughnuts, cookies and crackers.
• Texas produces Hard Red Winter and Soft Red Winter Wheat|
• Hard Red Winter is the dominant class in U.S. exports and the largest class produced each year.

History of Wheat PDF

• Wheat is one of the world’s most important food crops. Enormous changes in people’s lives occurred because of wheat being grown.
- People began growing their food, and no longer needing to search for food.
- Permanent settlements were established due to wheat proving a stable food supply.
- Trade between various cultures developed when extra wheat became available.

• By 4,000 B.C. wheat farming spread to Asia, Europe and North Africa. Soon, wheat was grown world wide.

Wheat Facts PDF

• Wheat is a member of the grass family that produces a dry, one seeded fruit called a kernel.
• More than 17,000 years ago, people gathered the seeds, rubbed off the husks and ate the kernels raw, parched or simmered.
• Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop and is third to rice and corn in total world production.
• More foods are made with wheat than any other cereal grain.
• Because wheat is such a versatile crop, it is being harvested somewhere in the world every month of the year.
• One bushel weighs 60 pounds and contains approximately one million individual kernels.

Wheat Flours PDF

All-Purpose Flour
Flour made from finely ground endosperm of the wheat kernel separated from the bran and germ during the milling process. It can be made from hard wheat or a combination of soft and hard wheat .

Enriched All-Purpose Flour
Iron and B-vitamins are added in amounts equal to or exceeding that of whole wheat flour.
Bleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour
Treated with chlorine to mature flour, condition the gluten and improve the baking quality. The chlorine evaporates and does not destroy the nutrients but reduces the risk of spoilage or contamination.
Unbleached Enriched All-Purpose Flour
Bleached by oxygen in the air during the aging process and is off-white in color. Nutritionally, bleached and unbleached are the same.
Whole-Wheat Flour
A coarse-textured flour ground from the entire kernel which contains the bran, germ, and endosperm. Baked products made from whole wheat flour tend to be heavier and denser than those made from white flour.
Other Flours
- Cake and Pastry Flours–Milled from soft wheat, low in glutens.
- Semolina–Coarsely ground endosperm of durum wheat. High in protein and used in high quality pasta noodles.
- Farina Flour–Coarsely ground endosperm of hard wheat . Prime ingredient in many U.S. breakfast cereals and inexpensive pasta.
- Durum Flour–By-product of semolina production, used to make commercial noodles.

60 pounds of wheat produces... PDF

• 60 pounds of whole wheat flour
• 42 pounds of white flour
• 42 commercial loaves of white bread
• 90 loaves of whole wheat bread
• 42 pounds of pasta
• 45 boxes of wheat flake cereal
• 210 servings of spaghetti

On average, in the U.S., one acre yields 37.1 bushels of wheat.

Wheat and Livestock PDF

• Much of the wheat used for livestock and poultry feed is a by-product of the flour milling industry.
• The green forage may be grazed by livestock or used as hay or silage.
• In many areas, wheat serves a dual purpose —grazed by livestock in the fall and early spring and then harvested as a grain crop when it matures.
• Wheat straw is used for livestock bedding.

Wheat Production

TOP COUNTIES – Winter Wheat (5 year average)

	Production (bushels)	Harvested Acres	Yield/Acre (bushels)
1. Sherman	4.9 mil	110,400	44
2. Hansford	4.3 mil	130,000	33
3. Dallam	4.2 mil	92,500	45
4. Ochiltree	3.8 mil	125,600	30
5. Parmer	3.6 mil	94,000	39
6. Deaf Smith	3.4 mil	105,400	32
7. Castro	3.3 mil	71,000	46
8. Hartley	3.0 mil	64,700	47
9. Knox	2.9 mil	111,140	26
10. Moore	2.9 mil	79, 800	36
Texas Total	97.6 mil	3,170,000	31

TOP STATES – Winter Wheat (5 year average)

	Production (bushels)	Harvested Acres	Yield/Acre (bushels)
1. Kansas	354.6 mil	8.9 mil	40
2. Oklahoma	139.5 mil	4.1 mil	34
3. Washington	113.2 mil	1.8 mil	64
4. Texas	97.6 mil	3.2 mil	31
5. Nebraska	64.6 mil	1.7 mil	39
U.S. Total	1.4 bil	33.2 mil	43

Wheat By-Products PDF

Wheat is primarily used for human consumption. It is nutritious, concentrated, easily stored and transported and processed into various types of food.
- Breads
- Rolls
- Crackers
- Pie Crusts
- Puddings
- Cookies
- Pastries
- Biscuits
- Macaroni
- Pizza
- Cakes
- Doughnuts
- Muffins
- Baby foods
- Spaghetti
- Pancakes
- Waffles
- Noodles
- Cereals
- Ice cream cones
- Many prepared hot and cold meals
- Common thickener in soups, gravies and sauces
- Germ, bran and malt are additional wheat products.

Non-Food Wheat Products
- Paste
- Wallboard
- Oil
- Concrete
- Gluten
- Trash bags

Other Products
- Cosmetics, soaps, shampoo, cat litter, pet foods, and biodegradable plastic wrap and plastic ware.
- Wheat straw is used in newsprint, paperboard and other paper products.