US wheat farmers face bad weather, but record stockpiles, low prices

Chicago

FEWER acres and lower yields in Kansas may do little to slow a prolonged decline in wheat prices. While the state is a key bellwether of supply from the US - the second largest exporter - the world simply has more of the grain than it needs.

That is just more bad news for Kansas farmers such as David Schemm. After the state's bin-busting harvest in 2016 helped send prices down for a fourth straight year, recurring dry spells over the past six months have left some of his 4,500 acres (1,821 ha) of winter wheat in such bad condition that he is going to dig up about 10 per cent to plant corn or sorghum instead.