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The planting for hard red winter wheat in the United States is already halfway completed.
美國硬紅冬小麥的種植已經完成了一半。
But experts say next year’s crop is already being limited by too little water in the middle of the country.
但專家表示，美國中部地區缺水已經限制了明年的作物產量。
Planting plans may be cut back in the U.S. even with historically high prices for wheat crops at this time of year.
盡管每年這個時候小麥價格處于歷史高位，但美國小麥種植面積可能會被削減。
The high prices are a result of rising worldwide demand and limited wheat supplies.
小麥價格高企是全球需求上升和小麥供應有限的結果。
And the U.S. is among the top five wheat exporters worldwide.
美國是全球五大小麥出口國之一。
In the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, the drought threatens crops already in the ground from developing properly.
在堪薩斯州和俄克拉何馬州，干旱威脅著已經種在地上的作物的正常生長。
It also discourages farmers from trying to plant more.
這也阻礙了農民設法種植更多作物。
Kent Winter is a farmer in Andale, Kansas.
肯特·溫特是堪薩斯州安代爾的一名農民。
Winter described the situation as “grim,” meaning unpleasant or bad to think about.
溫特用“嚴峻的，令人不快的”來形容這種情況，grim的意思是不愉快或不好。
He said he normally plants seeds by mid-October but has yet to plant any wheat this year.
他說，他通常在10月中旬播種，但今年還沒有播種小麥。
About two-thirds of wheat in the U.S. is grown as a winter crop rather than as a spring crop.
美國約三分之二的小麥是作為冬季作物而不是春季作物種植的。
Without water, wheat plants may fail to come out from the ground.
如果沒有水，小麥植株可能無法長出地面。
Even a delayed appearance would threaten yield possibilities by narrowing the window for plants to develop a strong root system and push out more stems, known as tillers, before winter.
即使延遲長出地面也會威脅產量，因為這會縮短植株在冬季之前發育強健根系和發出更多莖（即分蘗）的時間。
Mark Hodges is an agriculture expert with Plains Grains Inc, an Oklahoma-based group that tests wheat for quality.
馬克·霍奇斯是Plains Grains Inc的農業專家，Plains Grains Inc是一家總部位于俄克拉何馬州的組織，負責檢測小麥的質量。
Hodges said, "If you don't have the tillers in the fall, it's really hard to make up that number in the spring."
霍奇斯說，“如果小麥在秋天沒有分蘗，那么在春天就很難達到這個數字。”
While wheat farmers would like to get high market prices, the dry weather may discourage them from purchasing and using supplies of high-priced seeds and fertilizer.
雖然種植小麥的農民希望獲得較高的市場價格，但干旱可能會阻止他們購買和使用高價種子和化肥。
Justin Gilpin of the Kansas Wheat Commission expects the number of Kansas wheat acres planted for harvest in 2023 to remain the same as the 7.3 million acres seeded for 2022.
堪薩斯州小麥委員會的賈斯汀·吉爾平預計，2023年堪薩斯州可收獲的小麥種植面積將與2022年730萬英畝的小麥播種面積持平。
Winter agreed. "With the price of wheat, a lot of operators were planning to at least match or even up their acres for this coming year. But this drought is having a huge” effect “on plans," he said.
溫特表示同意。他說：“隨著小麥價格的上漲，許多經營者至少會計劃在來年增加種植面積。但這場干旱對計劃產生了巨大的影響。”
Poor plant growth could have a longer-term cost as well.
小麥植株生長不良也可能會帶來更長期的損失。
Wheat helps keep soil in place, protecting it from wind damage.
小麥有助于保護土壤免受風的破壞。
"No farmer wants to see his ground blowing. So you go ahead and plant wheat, and hope ... you get it up before winter comes," said Martin Kerschen, who farms in Garden Plain, Kansas.
堪薩斯州花園平原的農場主馬丁·克爾申說：“沒有農民愿意看到自己的土地被風吹裂。所以你會繼續種植小麥，希望……你能在冬天到來之前播種小麥。”
Wheat is a famously strong crop that can come back from difficult weather conditions.
小麥是一種出名的強壯作物，其可以在惡劣的天氣條件下恢復過來。
But weather predictions suggest the drought will likely continue in Kansas and surrounding wheat-producing states through December.
但天氣預報顯示，干旱可能會在堪薩斯州和周邊的小麥生產州持續到12月。
In Kansas, 27 percent of the state is in "exceptional drought," the most extreme kind of drought.
在堪薩斯州，27%的地區處于“異常干旱”狀態，這是最極端的干旱類型。
Almost the entire state is unusually dry, said the latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report prepared by a group of climate experts.
由一組氣候專家撰寫的最新美國干旱監測周報稱，幾乎整個州都異常干旱。
An important reason for the drought is the La Nina weather pattern, which often favors warm and dry conditions in the middle of the country.
干旱的一個重要原因是拉尼娜天氣模式，它通常會導致該國中部地區產生溫暖而干燥的天氣。
The current La Nina is in its third year.
目前，美國已第三年出現拉尼娜現象。
I’m John Russell.
約翰·拉塞爾為您播報。
譯文為可可英語翻譯，未經授權請勿轉載！
