Although a wet winter may have delayed spring planting across the Heart of Texas, conditions are far superior to last spring when drought crippled much of the state’s grain production.

How those crops fare will depend largely on weather conditions over the next few weeks, McLennan County AgriLife Extension Agent Shane McLellan said.

“It has been really wet, a rain about every six to seven days,” he said. “Farmers normally would plant corn Feb. 14 to March 14, and then switch to milo once they got beyond that window.

“Farmers are still planting corn and hoping for a cooler, wetter summer.”

Time may tell for the spring crop decisions, but so far, winter wheat is performing extremely well in 2010.

More than half of the Texas wheat crop is currently rated good to excellent, said AgriLife Extension economist Mark Welch in his weekly grains report from College Station.

In fact, the current crop is tracking closely with the record-setting wheat crop of 2007.

Unfortunately, Welch said, prices are not doing so well.

“A strong dollar and weak prices in other grains and oilseeds are weighing on wheat prices,” he said. “Wheat has lost over 45 cents per bushel in the last month,” according to Kansas City Board of Trade July futures prices.

“We have seen little evidence of seasonal price strength in wheat this spring,” he added. “I look for corn prices to be slightly higher and for these to spill over to wheat.

“With so much of the crop in good shape and large stocks, a bullish acreage report and strength from outside markets will be our best bet for better prices.”

Still, Central Texas wheat growers will need to monitor more than price conditions. According to McLellan, disease is also turning up in crops this year.

Because of the cool, wet winter and spring, conditions are prime for the development of stripe rust, or yellow rust, in wheat.

Stripe rust is caused by the fungus Puccinia striiformis. It appears as narrow, orange-yellow stripes on the wheat plant. It can spread rapidly and ultimately kill the crop.

To combat the disease, farmers historically have planted stripe rust-resistant wheat varieties. But test fields in College Station this year have detected the disease in previously resistant crops.

Several chemical controls are available, but farmers will need to carefully weigh their decision to spray against potential yields, wheat prices, weather and application costs.

“Only trace levels of stripe rust have been found in other locations across the state,” McLellan said. “As temperatures begin to increase, however, the incidence of stripe rust should decrease.”

He suggested farmers should monitor their crops closely during the next few weeks. For more information on wheat diseases, visit varietytesting.tamu.edu.

More information will also be available when farmers gather Friday in McGregor for the annual small grains production field day.

The event is hosted by the Texas AgriLife Extension agriculture committees in Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Hamilton, Limestone and McLennan counties.

It begins at 8:30 a.m. at Huffman Farms off U.S. Highway 84 east of McGregor. It concludes at the McGregor Research Center, 773 Ag Farm Road, in McGregor, with a free meal for those who register by Tuesday.

For more information, contact the McLennan County Extension office at 254-757-5180.

Bobby Horecka lives in China Spring with his wife and three children. He writes for the Texas Farm Bureau’s print publications, online news service and video projects.