SIC 0111 Wheat

Encyclopedia of American Industries | 2005 | Copyright

SIC 0111
WHEAT

This industry consists of establishments primarily engaged in the production of wheat or whose sales of wheat account for more than 50 percent of total value of sales for their agricultural production.

NAICS Code(s)

111140 (Wheat Farming)

Industry Snapshot

Wheat farms in the United States produced an estimated 2.9 billion bushels of grain in the 2001-02 season, harvesting approximately 53 million acres with an average yield of 42 bushels per acre. Wheat is the third largest crop in the United States in terms of acres harvested, with Kansas, North Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Oklahoma harvesting the most. Season average farm prices (SAFP) for American wheat were projected to be between $2.75 to $2.85 per bushel and depended on an enormous range of environmental, political, economic, and technological factors. Although some wheat is used as livestock feed, it is largely used to make flour. The United States is the world's top exporter of wheat. In the early 2000s roughly 50 percent of total harvested crops were accounted for in exports.

Due to the importance of U.S. wheat in international trade and the integral role the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) played in every sector of the agricultural economy, wheat farmers were in many ways more affected by shifts in the political climate than by actual weather conditions.

The U.S. wheat industry was also a world leader in research and development, a point underscored by the unparalleled variety of wheat grown by American farmers. While the Hard Red Winter (HRW) Wheat crop is much larger than other wheat crops (accounting for about 40 percent of the total wheat supply), there were five other commercial classes of U.S. wheat: Hard Red Spring (HRS), Soft Red Winter (SRW), White, Durum, and Red Durum.

Distribution, Production Conditions, and Use. Although wheat is grown in virtually every state, the focal point of the industry is in the central and southern Great Plains Region where Hard Red Winter Wheat is produced. There, in states like Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas, and Colorado, the winters are cold and dry, while the summers are hot. Precipitation, which varies over the region (between 13 and 30 inches annually), can fluctuate drastically, and droughts periodically afflict wide areas for a succession of years. Farms are generally large and employ extensive, as opposed to intensive, methods of crop production. Wheat farmers employ various systems of crop rotation depending on field soil moisture. Most often, farmers alternate a year of wheat with a year of fallow to conserve soil moisture, and HRW wheat is sown in late autumn and harvested in the spring. Wheat production is highly mechanized in the region. A farm worker can typically sow 100 acres or combine-harvest 50 acres in a workday. When milled, HRW wheat produces strong baking and high-quality bread-making flours.

The main region for Hard Red Spring wheat is the northern Great Plains region, where winters are too harsh for HRW wheat production. The soils are deep, rich, black or brown grassland soils. HRS wheat is usually sown in late April and harvested in August. On average, 80 percent of the annual 15 to 25 inches of rainfall comes during this short growing season. A great variety of crops are used in rotation with wheat, and summer fallowing is becoming rare except in the driest areas. The climatic and soil conditions give HRS wheat a high protein content, strong gluten, and high baking strength. Its flour is excellent for breadmaking and can support weaker flours when combined with them in breads.

The Pacific Northwest is the third significant American wheat-producing region. There, on the Columbia Plateau in the valley of the Columbia River, large areas of rolling farmland are protected by mountains, and the climate is moderated by the Japanese Current. Most of the wheat grown in this region is...

Read all of SIC 0111 Wheat at HighBeam Business

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Monsieur de Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman, Revolutionary, a Legendary Life Rediscovered.(Book Review) Magazine article from: Black Issues Book Review ; Monsieur de Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman...life of Joseph de Saint-George was so incredible it seems...By his early thirties, Saint-George was one of France...first big breaks. Saint-George also mentored Alexandre...
	Monsieur de Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman, Revolutionary, A Legendary Life Rediscovered Magazine article from: Black Issues Book Review ; Monsieur de Saint-George: Virtuoso, Swordsman...life of Joseph de Saint-George was so incredible it seems...By his early thirties, Saint-George was one of France...first big breaks. Saint-George also mentored Alexandre...
	CHEVALIER DE SAINT-GEORGE: THE FIRST BLACK SUPERSTAR?(LOCAL) Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot ; ...Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George, was born in Guadeloupe...unfortunate. In 1789, Saint-George espoused...destiny, Saint-George returned to the Caribbean...Web site (www.saint-george.fr.st...carry some of Saint-George's legacy to the...
	Monsieur de Saint-George Magazine article from: Opera News ; Monsieur de Saint-George by Alain Guede Picador, 304pp. $26...Black Mozart," Monsieur de Saint-George (1739-99), ne Joseph Bologne, was...Europe as a musical prodigy, Saint-George served in the not-so-enlightened...
	Saint George for England. (choice of patron saint is based on myth) Magazine article from: Contemporary Review ; ...mystery. The maturing of St George into England's patron saint was a slow process spanning...the first English life of the saint who, writing less than fifty...arrival, differentiated between saints 'honoured by the English nation' and saints like St George whom monks 'honoured ...
	Saint George licenses Mareh. (menswear designer Allyn Saint George, Mareh Shirt Company Inc.) Magazine article from: Daily News Record ; SAINT GEORGE LICENSES MAREH NEW YORK -- Allyn Saint...plan four selling seasons a year for the Saint George line to coincide with the firm's usual...suits, neckwear and slacks lines." Saint George added: "The new license is exciting...
	RAISE A TOAST TO ENGLAND AND SAINT GEORGE; ON St George's Day, PADDY SHENNAN salutes -with a cuppa,of course -the increasing popularity of England's patron saint.(Features) Newspaper article from: Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England) ; ...party for their patron saint? For years,many of...Patrick of Ireland than St George of England. A fair point...Christians revered George as a soldier who tore...the country's patron saint --and a church was...Council of Oxford,St George's Day was declared...
	Saint George looks more appealing sans nationalist fury.(BOOKS)(LETTER FROM LONDON) Newspaper article from: The Washington Times ; ...Everyone seems to have a different version of Saint George. Edward Gibbon presented him to us as George of Cappadocia, a corrupt trader to the Roman...minority could name the correct date of Saint George's Day - April 23. Fewer still, perhaps...
	Weintraub licensed by Saint George. (Allyn Saint George; George Weintraub and Sons Inc.) Magazine article from: Daily News Record ; WEINTRAUB LICENSED BY SAINT GEORGE NEW YORK -- Allyn Saint George has signed a long-term licensing agreement with George Weintraub & Sons to produce and market rainwear, outercoats and formalwear bearing his label. Prices in the line...
	One stroke of a magistrate's pen slays Saint George; April 23 is not a special occasion, licensing court is told. Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England) ; ...that England's patron saint's day was not a 'special...crossed out the words 'St George's Day' on the application...whose armies wore St George's red cross as a battle...Battle of Agincourt, St George replaced Edward the Confessor...as England's patron saint and April 23 was declared...