Winter wheat acres in Kansas have been steadily declining over the last couple of decades, ceding ground to corn and soybeans.

Yet wheat can be very versatile in the overall cropping system of a farm, according to K-State Extension wheat and forages specialist Romulo Lollato.

Lollato spoke to farmers March 7 and 8 about research insights from the Wheat Rx project, a partnership between Kansas Wheat and K-State Research and Extension.

He said farmers might want to consider wheat’s role beyond just grain production on their farms.

Lollato said producers may consider that its use as a soil cover or as a forage to be grazed can pay its way in a farm’s overall enterprise.

Grazing dual-purpose wheat, for example, may provide smaller grain yields, but if a stocker calf can gain 1.5 to 2.5 pounds per day on that high-quality forage, it may pencil out in some years for wheat farmers to graze.

Keep in mind that cattle have to be removed at the first hollow stem stage, Lollato advised, in order for the wheat plants to be able to produce grain.

Consider as well that wheat in a rotation has been shown to provide agronomic benefits to following crops, Lollato said. Research shows that corn planted after wheat benefits from an average of 1 inch more soil moisture left behind than corn following sorghum, he said.

That strategy has been shown to lead to a yield bump in corn after wheat of about 15 bushels per acre, which is 54% greater than if the corn crop followed sorghum, according to the research.

That yield bump also is there for sorghum following wheat, to the tune of about 10 to 30 bushels per acre more.

There’s a yield gain to be found in soybeans planted after wheat, too. Lollato said a 43-year experiment at Ashland Bottoms shows that soybeans benefit from the wheat residue in a reduced or no-till system. That residue lowers soil temperatures and shades the ground to suppress weeds until the soybean plants can provide their own shade, he said.

Wheat residue also produces an allelopathic effect, where it produces chemicals as it’s breaking down on the surface that inhibits weed seed germination and growth. Having wheat in a rotation also allows farmers to use different control methods to break insect and disease cycles, too, he said.

Lollato said the wheat crop across the state seems to be off to a good start this year, with spots here and there where there may still be some lingering effects from drought.

“For the most part, I think we’re in much better shape than we were in the fall,” he said.

The crop may be a bit earlier than usual, which could cause concern if there’s a late freeze in March or April, he added.