What Happened to Those Amber Waves?

Agriculture ▶ America loses its No. 1 place among wheat exporters ▶ “Technology has improved for corn and soybeans”

Paul Penner’s winter wheat is poking through as the weather warms in Kansas, a state where the grain is part of the mythology. He grows about 300 acres of it and says profits depend on global markets. About two-fifths of the U.S. crop goes abroad, according to the Department of Agriculture.

While exports are important to U.S. farmers, U.S. grain has become less important to the world. A stronger dollar is making American wheat less