Wheat belt (United States)

Wheat is produced in almost every state in the United States, and is the principal cereal grain grown in the country. The type and quantity vary between regions. The United States is ranked third in production volume of wheat, with almost 58 million tons produced in the 2012–2013 growing season, behind only China and India. (But the combined production of all European Union nations is larger than that of China.) The United States ranks first in crop export volume; almost 50% of its total wheat production is exported.

The United States Department of Agriculture defines eight official classes of wheat: durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, hard red winter wheat, soft red winter wheat, hard white wheat, soft white wheat, unclassed wheat, and mixed wheat. Winter wheat accounts for 70 to 80 percent of total production in the U.S., with the largest amounts produced in Kansas (10.8 million tons) and North Dakota (9.8 million tons). The U.S. hard red spring wheat crop is exported to over 70 countries each year to the extent of 55%. Of the total wheat produced in the country, 50% is exported, valued at US$9 billion.

Although it was first introduced to the Western Hemisphere following the discovery of the New World in the 15th century, wheat came to be grown in North American soil only during the colonial period. During the colonial period, wheat was sown by broadcasting; reaped by sickles, and threshed by flails. The kernels were then taken to a grist mill for grinding into flour.

In 1830, it took four people and two oxen, working 10 hours a day, to produce 200 bushels. The geographic center of wheat-growing areas in the U.S. in 1839 was to the north and west of Washington, D.C., and spread further over time to the far west of the country. Production conditions also resulted in extending the wheat growing areas into harsher climatic regions. Data on wheat production is available for the period between 1885 and 1930. Improvements in wheat breeding in the U.S. was an activity of the state agricultural experiment stations while the federal officials concentrated on exploring possibilities of gaining from appropriate varieties developed in other parts of the world.

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