Have you checked out the 14 day forecast? Not a flake in sight and temperatures are showing a very upward trend.
So first things first. Once the snow is gone and the field dries a little, it's time to take a good look at your wheat.
-take a walk over the field with your trowel. Dig up a few plants here and there and look at the roots and crown. Are the roots clinging to the dirt? Are the roots a whitish colour? When the crown is cut open, is it whitish green? If the roots and crown are brown in colour... you might have a problem. If time allows, bring a few shovel fulls of wheat inside and watch for growth over the next 5 to 7 days.
-now take a stand count. Not just a plant count but a HEALTHY plant count. Those ones with brown roots, heaved out of the soil or dead crowns should not count. Average your stand counts over the entire field.
-compare your counts to OMAFRA's Stand assessment chart found at http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/news/croppest/2007/01cpo07a5.htm
Even with 7 healthy plants per foot of row, you can still expect a yield potential of 68 to 81 bus/ac depending on planting time.
-If the field is marginal, give it some time if you can. A warm rain and a week of warm weather can make a huge difference. If the field would be going into corn anyways, try applying 30 or 40lb of N to see if it will help. Fields with few tillers can benefit from an early split ap of N to get things growing and promote some early spring tillering. Of course, N application should wait till the fields are fit and the plants have started to grow again so that they can actually use the Nitrogen.
-For a second opinion, ask you seed rep or crop insurance agent to have a look.
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