The Delmarva Jordbruk Chronicles:
Status Of Market
Wheat Farming In Maryland

April 16, 2021

Wheat is harvested at Walnut Hill Farms in Dorchester County, Maryland.
(This photograph was provided courtesy of Jason Scott.)

Wheat is one of key grain crops grown in the nine counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

“Maryland typically grows soft red winter wheat,” according to Ms. Lindsay Thompson, Executive Director of Maryland Grain Producers, a membership organization of grain producers across the state.  “Soft red winter wheat is consumed by chickens and used to mill flour for cookies, pretzels, and pastries.  One bushel of wheat weighs approximately 60 pounds.  One bushel of wheat can produce about 90 pounds of bread or 210 servings of spaghetti.  One bushel of wheat contains around 1 million individual kernels.”

“Wheat is used as a winter cover crop on Delmarva, planted in the fall and growing over the winter to take up leftover nutrients and provide ground cover to prevent erosion,” stated Ms. Thompson.  “The soft red winter wheat grown in Maryland is primarily sold to either the poultry industry in Maryland or the milling industry in Pennsylvania.”

As in Delaware, there has been a decline in planting and harvesting of wheat in recent years throughout the entire Delmarva Region as well as nationally.

“We have seen a gradual decline in wheat acres over the last several years due to price, weather at planting, and some disease pressure,” Ms. Thompson continued.  “COVID-19 was not a particular impact on wheat production.  Weather played the biggest factor with a wet Fall making it hard to plan and then late frost causing damage in the Spring.”

Ms. Thompson explained that efforts are underway to try to improve disease resistance in the local wheat crop.  “Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board is funding research at the University of Maryland to develop wheat varieties more adaptive to Maryland conditions and resistant to disease.”

According to annual surveys completed by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 7,063,400 bushels of winter wheat was produced in Eastern Shore of Maryland in 2020.  Unless otherwise cited, statistics detailed in this news column are from this source.

The number of acres planted and harvested with winter wheat as well as the production and valuations of the crop have varied during recent years in the nine counties of Maryland that comprise the Eastern Shore of the State.

A total of 252,700 acres were planted with winter wheat in the Eastern Shore of Maryland in 2020.  That amount is more than double the amount planted in 2010, when 121,300 acres were planted with winter wheat.  In 2000, 149,600 acres were planted with the crop.  Fifty years ago, in 1970, 50,600 acres were planted with winter wheat in these nine counties.

Harvested acres of winter wheat increased to 96,870 acres in 2020 from 82,400 acres in 2010.  Both harvests represented decreases from the harvest of 2000;  in that year, 140,200 acres of winter wheat were harvested.  In 1970, 48,900 acres were harvested in the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Yields per acre of winter wheat varied based on the individual counties.  In 2020, the highest yields were in Kent County (84.6 bushels per acre) and Cecil County (81.4 bushels per acre).  The yields in these two counties were higher than in certain previous years.  Kent County yields were 69.2 bushels per acre in 2015, 70.3 bushels in 2010, 72.3 bushels in 2000, and 45.6 bushels per acre in 1970.  Cecil County yields were 64 bushels per acre in 2010, 60.1 bushels in 2000, and 39.6 bushels per acre in 1970.  The highest yields of winter wheat in the Eastern Shore of Maryland were in Somerset County (76.9 bushels per acre) in 2015, in Kent County in 2010, in Somerset County in 2000 (72.4 bushels per acre), and in Kent County in 1970.

The lowest yields of winter wheat in 2020 were in Wicomico County (47 bushels per acre) and Worcester County (57.3 acres per bushel).   Overall, the lowest yields in the Eastern Shore of Maryland were in Caroline County (52.1 bushels per acre) in 2015, in Somerset County in 2010 (50 bushels per acre), in Wicomico County in 2000 (56.1 bushels per acre), and in Cecil County in 1970.

Overall volume of winter wheat harvested has also varied during the past twenty years.  In 2020, as noted above, 7,063,400 bushels of winter wheat was produced, while in 2010, 4,910,000 bushels were produced.  A higher production level, though, was in 2000;  9,065,200 bushels were produced in that year.  In 1970, 2,049,000 bushels of winter wheat were produced in the nine counties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Jason Scott is one of the farmers that grows wheat in the Delmarva.  He is past president of U S Wheat Associates and is the Manager of Walnut Hill Farms in Hurlock, Dorchester County.  The farm includes 400 acres.

“We typically harvest around middle to end of June and get it done as quickly as possible so that we can get the double crop soybeans planted,” stated Mr. Scott.  “About one-third of our wheat is hauled directly to Pennsylvania to flour mills.  The rest goes to local elevators for use as feed, export, or ultimately to be delivered to the flour mills.”

In 2020, 32,000 bushels of wheat were harvested at Walnut Hill Farms;  the value of that harvest was about $140,000.  “Our yields were down a little bit due to a frost event right at flowering which knocked the yield on some areas of the fields,” Mr. Scott continued.  “Price was down a little bit as well so our overall gross sales were probably down about 20% from average.”

Mr. Scott concurred with Ms. Thompson that weather is a critical factor affecting wheat farming.  He explained that weather affects the harvest every year:  “Wheat is a finicky crop, and you need perfect weather to be able to harvest it dry and store it.  We typically have enough humidity and sporadic rain that we have to cut some wet wheat just to get it done.”

Wet ground is anticipated to affect the wheat harvest this Summer.

“Our acres are down significantly to about 230 acres because the Fall was too wet to get the wheat planted,” Mr. Scott noted.  “That also will typically affect yields somewhat because the wheat that is planted didn't come up as good as normal.  Luckily, the price is about 40% higher so that will help with the bottom line.”

Sustainability is key at Walnut Hill Farms.

“Wheat is a great companion crop to corn and soybeans because it spreads the workload across the seasons, provides winter cover and creates an environment in the soil that is good for the microbial population,” explained Mr. Scott.  “We strive to have something growing on every acre year round and wheat helps us to do that.”

Wheat growing in Ingleside, Queen’s Anne County, Maryland.
(This photograph was provided courtesy of Maryland Grain Producers.)

The Delmarva Jordbruk Chronicles is a news column that details agriculture in Delaware
and the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. “Jordbruk” is Swedish for “Agriculture.”
Please contact Richard McDonough at delmarvajordbruk@protonmail.com.

© 2021 Richard McDonough