Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007 - 12

B U S I N E S S

Bounteous snowfall boon for 2007
hard red winter crop prospects
Continued from Page 1
areas received less than 2 inches of
precipitation from rain and/or snow
in the 30 days ended Jan. 11.
While particularly outstanding given the dry conditions typical in recent
years, the wet, snowy weather in areas
of Colorado and western Kansas was remarkable for the region by any measure.
For instance, the 3.21 inches of precipitation that fell in Dodge City, Kas.,
Dec. 28-31 was the second-wettest December storm there in recorded history,
eclipsed only by a storm in 1877. The late

and I can't remember any two snow
storms like this," Mr. Hanavan said.
"Our biggest problem since drought
began in 1999 is that we have planted
under favorable conditions, but we
haven't had beneficial moisture in the
winter and spring. We keep running out
of moisture before summer rains. I can't
say this will make the crop, but we were
in good shape before the snow."
In late November, the 2007 Colorado
wheat crop was rated 74% good to excellent by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Kansas crop was rated

U.S. precipitation
(30-days observed)

Source: National Weather Service

December storm followed one in Dodge
City Dec. 19-21 that yielded more than
an inch of precipitation. Indicative of
how dry this area usually is, it was the
first time since 1918 that Dodge City experienced two separate storms yielding
more than 1 inch of precipitation during
the month of December.
Affirming and applauding the extraordinary snowfall in Colorado was
Darrell Hanavan, executive director of
the Colorado Wheat Administrative
Committee in Centennial, Colo. The
same two storms that struck Kansas
hit Colorado in a two-week period, the
first dumping nearly 24 inches of snow
across northern Colorado and lighter
amounts in the south. The second storm
left another 12 inches of snow in the
north and progressively more in the
south, ranging to as much as 40 inches.
"I've been in this business 25 years,
12 / Milling & Baking News, January 16, 2007

51% good or excellent and 41% fair.
"The snow is melting and will soak in
gradually," Mr. Hanavan said. "It also
provides protection to the wheat crop
from the cold. Our growers are pretty
excited. Most of them can't even tell you
how long it has been since we've had
winter moisture like this that has covered the whole eastern plains of Colorado. Both of these storms covered the
entire area."
The weather also strained the memory of growers in western Kansas. While
Kansas snowfall totals generally did not
match those in Colorado, snow in Kansas was considerable and preceded in
both storms by heavy rains.
"The week before Christmas, 1.5
inches of rain were followed by about
6 inches of snow on top," said Dale
Erwin, manager of the Syracuse Coop,
a 3-million-bu elevator west of Dodge

City. "In the second storm, beginning
Dec. 29, we had 3 inches of rain, 3
inches of ice and then 10 to 12 inches of snow, even more in some areas.
There was very little runoff.
"I spoke with a grower north of
town who dug through 18 inches of
snow. He said there is a crust of ice on
the ground and just mud beneath it. It
puts our wheat, which is dormant, in
tremendous shape."
Asked the last time western Kansas
received such a beneficial winter storm,
Mr. Erwin said he did not know.
"I have a guy in my office who is 75,
and he doesn't remember the last time
he saw this much moisture," he said.
"Possibly never."
Mr. Erwin and others were quick
to point out that while conditions in
January were the best in years, several
months and the spring growing season
must pass before "we put the wheat in
the bin." Still, he said the benefit of winter moisture should not be understated.
"I had an older gentleman tell me
something his father had told him -
that if you have 5 feet of subsoil moisture going into the spring, you can raise
a wheat crop on nothing more than a
few heavy dews. We have a lot more
than five feet of subsoil moisture now.
"I believe the most critical thing for
our wheat crop is having subsoil moisture in the growing season in the spring,
and we have it. It's a hardy crop, it can
endure a lot if it has the foundation and
subsoil moisture to start out."
The snow cover offered great protection to the crop in advance of an Arctic
front that approached the Southwest late
last week. Even after days and days of
melting, snow depths on Jan. 11 in Colorado were 18 inches in Kit Carson and 15
inches in Lamar. In Kansas, snow depths
were 10 inches in Goodland and 5 inches
in Colby. Farther east, where snowfall
was lighter, some concerns were expressed about the crop's vulnerability to
the approaching cold weather.
A meteorologist addressing members
of the Kansas City Board of Trade Jan.
11 forecast an additional 3 inches to 10
inches of snow for western Nebraska
and western Kansas as well as eastern
Colorado for the following weekend.
Central Kansas and eastern areas were
expected to receive a wintry mix of
precipitation, including rain, sleet and
freezing rain. The panhandles of Oklahoma and Texas were expected to miss
out on significant precipitation.
The meteorologist also forecast a
continuation of the recent weather
pattern, albeit with colder temperatures, with precipitation events occurring every 10 days or so. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - January 16, 2007