While official numbers are not yet available, many believe acreage will increase from the 560,000 planted in 2021.

“Acreage is higher, in my estimation,” said Matt Wehmeyer of Mascoutah-based AgriMAXX Seed. “Sales were up. In some areas they were up 30% or so.”

Kyle Brase, who farms near Edwardsville, in Madison County, also believes wheat acreage will expand this season.

“In my area wheat acres are up quite a bit,” said Brase, who also sells wheat seed. “But bear in mind we’re on the northern end of wheat in the region, so you can have none and you can have a lot. From a wheat sales standpoint, we’re probably up 20% from where we were a year ago. That’s a pretty big tick up for our area.”

On his farm he is maintaining the acreage he planted in 2021, though he had increased it last year. Despite dry conditions around planting, he is pleased with what he has seen so far.

“I’m happy with the quality of the wheat crop that’s out there growing,” Brase said. “I can find some fall tillers, which is a huge deal for us.”

Leon Adams, who farms in Jefferson County, will be planting much more wheat than he did last fall, he said. Much of that, however, is due to poor conditions last year.

“I’m up 45% probably from a year ago,” he said. “But I got only a little over half a crop in last year because it was so wet.”

Things are as different as can be this year.

“Our wheat acres are up from a year ago, but we had a really dry fall, and it allowed us to put in a normal crop,” Adams said. “It was so dry, some of our wheat lay in the ground for a month. But it’s great today. I’m really tickled with it.”

Most wheat in Illinois is grown in the southern third of the state, virtually all as a double-crop partner with soybeans. And acreage changes may vary according to where the farms are.

Aaron Hunsinger of Bosch BASF Smart Farming, who lives in White County in the southeastern part of Illinois, hasn’t seen much added acreage this year.

Several factors come into play for Illinois wheat producers considering acreage.

“Those are opportunities, commodity price, the timeliness of harvest and weather,” Wehmeyer said. “This year we had all three. We had a wonderful wheat harvest as well, with good quality and great yields. We had the highest-quality wheat harvest as we’ve had in many years, which tells us that wheat is good crop and encourages guys to increase those acres.”

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated a record 79 bushels per acre, tying the 2021 number. Production, however, is estimated at 44.2 million bushels, down 8% from the previous year.

The crop’s performance has improved dramatically in recent years.

“Wheat’s a big deal, and it wasn’t worth much (before),” Hunsinger said. “With intensive wheat management, it’s nothing for them to get 100-bushel wheat anymore, and 50-bushel double-crop beans. Just 10 years ago or so it was great to get 60- to 70-bushel wheat and 30-bushel double-crop.”

Like many farmers, Adams considers planting conditions a major driver, though he generally maintains steady acreage.

“The logistics of getting wheat put out is your No. 1 factor always,” he said. “We try to manage and plan for X-amount of acres every year, but weather and how quick the (soybean) harvest comes off are the two main components. Obviously, price plays a big part in it, too.”

The old proverb “plant in the dust and the bins will bust” may come to pass, as most farmers in southern Illinois kicked up a lot of dust with planters this fall.

“People I’ve talked to have stated that it took a long time to come up, but it’s a great stand,” Hunsinger said. “I think there will be some good wheat. But with what people can get for wheat and double-crop beans, I thought there would be more planted.”