Arkansas winter wheat crop hit by flooding

By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Flooding from heavy storms last week has submerged tens of thousands of acres of winter wheat in Arkansas, a university agronomist said Tuesday.

"We've got tens of thousands of acres of wheat that has gone under water," said Jason Kelley, extension wheat agronomist with the University of Arkansas.

The flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries will likely lower yields in some fields and may kill the crop in other areas, depending on how long the water lingers.

Wheat should recover in areas where standing water lasts only two or three days, Kelley said, but with some rivers still rising, low-lying areas could be submerged for two weeks.

"There are a lot of fields that have been under water for five or six days, and the water is just not dropping very fast," he said.

Farmers whose wheat is damaged may switch to spring-seeded crops including corn, soybeans, rice or cotton.

Arkansas growers planted 870,000 acres of winter wheat for harvest in 2008, up 6 percent on the year. The state grows soft red winter wheat, which is planted in the fall and harvested in the spring after a dormant period in the winter.

U.S. seedings of soft red winter wheat for 2008 rose 21 percent from a year ago, reaching 10.5 million acres, as farmers took advantage of historically high prices at planting time last fall.