Do you enjoy toast in the morning or a favorite sandwich for lunch? Wheat and white bread are made from wheat. Pasta such as spaghetti is made from wheat. Global wheat supplies are shrinking. Crop losses in the world’s biggest wheat exporters (Russia, United States, Canada) and quality concerns have pushed prices to multiyear highs. Here are other fascinating facts about wheat. Did You Know?
- Drought and heat continued to fry Canada’s wheat in July, months after a brutal winter hit the Russian wheat crop
- Weather conditions have affected other crops as well – U.S. soybean inventories are down 80% and corn inventories are down 33%
- It is expected that consumers will see higher bread prices in the coming months
- Many countries keep a buffer of grain on hand to prevent supplies from running too short to prevent social instability
- It is expected to take two more growing seasons for supplies to reach comfortable levels again
- U.S. wheat’s inventory decline is projected to be down 18% or more
- Billionaires Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos are buying up farmland
- Wheat crops fluctuate each year as seen by the historical chart below
- PRODUCTION OF WHEAT IN TIIE UNITED STATES, Crop in bushels
1915 …………………………… 1,025,801,000
1916 …………………………… 639,886,000
Homeschoolers: Sketch/color an illustration. Write the words “wheat inventory” ten times or until you can spell it correctly. Subtract the 1916 inventory from the 1915 inventory. Theme: wheat products like bread. Finish this sentence: My favorite sandwich is… Read the story called Little Red Hen. Describe what the Little Red Hen baked.✍️
