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• Download a Planting Guide including lbs per acre chart by clicking here.
• General Planting Rate for Wheat is 80 - 120 lbs per acre depending on soil type and fertility and desired yield.
• Wholesale for multiple bags call 802-385-1064

Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop and is a close third to rice and corn in total world production. Wheat is well adapted to harsh environments and is mostly grown on wind swept areas that are too dry and too cold for the more tropically inclined rice and corn, which do best at intermediate temperature levels.

Wheat is believed to have originated in south­western Asia. Some of the earliest remains of the crop have been found in Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. Primitive relatives of present day wheat have been discovered in some of the oldest excavations of the world in eastern Iraq, which date back 9,000 years. Other archeological findings show that bread wheat was grown in the Nile Valley about 5,000 B.C. as well as in India, China, and even England at about the same time. Wheat was first grown in the United States in 1602 on an island off the Massachusetts coast. Man has depended upon the wheat plant for himself and his beasts for thousands of years. A global wheat failure would be a disaster that few nations could survive for even one year which is one reason why we at Dirt Works continue to work with local, certified organic farmers to maintain purity and prevent the introduction of GMO seed into the gene pool. That Frankenstein science will no doubt come back to haunt us all if we let the corporations have free rein to mess around with the gene pool of one of the world's most important crops.

Although the so-called bread wheats are common to most of us, there are many related species that make up the genus Triticum. This likely was due to a number of natural crossings with wild species during its early evolvement. Some of the species closely related to our common wheats would be einkorn, emmer, durum, and spelt.

Although useful as a livestock feed, wheat is used mainly as a human food. It is nutritious, concentrated, easily stored and transported, and easily processed into various types of food. Unlike any other plant-derived food, wheat contains gluten protein, which enables a leavened dough to rise by forming minute gas cells that hold carbon dioxide during fermentation. This process produces light textured bread.

Wheat supplies about 20 percent of the food calories for the world's people and is a national staple in many countries. In eastern Europe and Russia, over 30 percent of the calories consumed come from wheat. The per capita consumption of wheat in the United States exceeds that of any other single food staple. Besides being a high carbohydrate food, wheat contains valuable protein, minerals, and vitamins. Wheat protein, when balanced by other foods that supply certain amino acids such as lysine, is an efficient source of protein.

Various classes of wheat are used for different purposes. The major classes used for bread in the United States are hard-red spring and hard-red winter. These are the major wheats grown in the Great Plains of the United States. The dominant hard-red spring wheat states are North Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, and South Dakota. The major hard-red winter producing states are Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and Nebraska. In recent years, some production of hard white wheat has begun in the hard red winter region. These wheats are of higher quality than red wheats, but have been prone to preharvest sprouting. Extensive crop breeding efforts have created modern cultivars that are less susceptible to sprouting than those available in the past.

Durum wheat is produced mainly in very limited areas of North Dakota and surrounding states. Common foods produced from durum wheat are macaroni, spaghetti, and similar products.

Soft red winter wheat is grown principally in the eastern states. Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas lead in production of these wheats. Soft wheats are softer in texture and lower in protein than hard wheats. Wheats of this class are generally used in the manufacture of cakes, biscuits, pastry, and other types of flours.

Soft white wheats are soft wheats grown mainly in the northwest areas of the country. Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Michigan are leading producers. Soft white wheats are used principally for pastry flours and shredded and puffed breakfast foods.

In summary, wheat is the major ingredient in most breads, rolls, crackers, cookies, biscuits, cakes, doughnuts, muffins, pancakes, waffles, noodles, pie crusts, ice cream cones, macaroni, spaghetti, pud­dings, pizza, and many prepared hot and cold breakfast foods. It is also used in baby foods, and is a common thickener in soups, gravies, and sauces. Germ, bran, and malt are additional types of wheat products.

Much of the wheat used for livestock and poultry feed is a by-product of the flour milling industry. Wheat straw is used for livestock bedding and mulch. The green forage may be grazed by livestock or used as hay or silage. In many areas of the southern Great Plains, wheat serves a dual purpose by being grazed in the fall and early spring and then harvested as a grain crop. Industrial uses of wheat grain include starch for paste, alcohol, oil, and gluten. The straw may be used for newsprint, paperboard, mulching gardens or tilled under at harvest time..

A bushel of wheat weighs 60 pounds but usually is bagged in 50lbs bags.

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