Low temperatures spell trouble for winter wheat

The extreme cold has been frustrating for many, but for some farmers, it’s a disaster. “It’s gotten so cold that the ground is actually freezing,” said Lakin farmer Kyler Millershaski.On his western Kansas fields, he’s seeing warning signs of winter kill.“The ground is actually shrinking, so you’ve got these cracks going down. The down side is that just causes the ground to dry out more.” Four months ago, September was a rainy month, and things looked great for Millershaski’s wheat.“It never rained since we planted it, so in the last three months, we haven’t gotten any measurable moisture. I know some of Kansas saw some snow last week. We didn’t get that. We just got the cold and wind.”Cold, without a layer of snow to insulate crops.