Winter wheat crop off to good start.

• Position: Agriculture - Brief article

An autumn marked by adequate rainfall across much of the Central Plains states, and no hint of a return to drought conditions in the near future, could lead to an abundant spring 2007 harvest of hard red winter wheat, point out meteorologists from AccuWeather.com, State College, Pa. The region in which this vital crop is grown suffered through a devastating drought in the fall of 2005 and the winter of 2005-06, resulting in dramatically lower yields and thus higher prices for consumers and manufacturers.

Hard red winter wheat, the most widespread class of wheat grown in the U.S., primarily is used for baking bread. It predominantly thrives in the Plains region that encompasses Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Texas Panhandle. This class of wheat is planted from mid September through mid October, and requires moisture when planted so its seeds germinate properly. During last year's planting...