This is the second in our series on Wheat. In Episode 1 we looked at the at the global impact of wheat and wheat pricing. The full series guide to wheat is available here
In this episode we look at the impact of the drought in Kansas on wheat production. Wheat…..over 760 million tonnes are grow globally every year. It’s the staple food for nearly 50% of planet. Wheat supplies nearly 20% of the world’s calories. For this reason it is critical to food security, national security, and global stability.
While wheat is grown in over 38 countries, however, just six countries produce nearly 60% the world’s supply.
If the harvest fails in these countries, the food security fails for the world.
Kansas produces 20% of all US wheat – more than Brazil and Mexico combined. However, half of Kansas is now classified as “severe drought” or worse.
We have modelled the weather data for Kansas over the past 20 years and looked at comparative years. In 2018-2019 we can see good rains, with little risk of drought.
In 2021-2022 there is a lack of rain and a high risk of drought – this can be seen in the high amount of red. The drought risk is increased in both probability and scale.
This drought is dramatically impacting the yield. Currently only 23% of Kansas wheat is in a good or better condition. This means 7 million tonnes of wheat could be lost.
In the next episode we look at the flooding in China and trading with Russia