VOA今日美国2023 极端干旱和寒冷或致美国堪萨斯州冬小麦弃收率达19%（在线收听）

The midwestern U.S. state of Kansas is one of the country's top grain-producing states.

位于美国中西部的堪萨斯州是美国最大的粮食生产州之一。

But farmers there are having to kill or plow over their winter wheat crop after a bad growing season.

但在一个糟糕的生长季节后，那里的农民不得不毁掉或犁掉他们的冬小麦。

Farmers plant winter wheat in the autumn and it grows during the winter and early spring.

农民在秋天种植冬小麦，冬小麦在冬季和早春生长。

Harvest time is in the summer.

收获的季节是在夏天。

By the month of May, farmers have a good idea about the health of the wheat plants.

到了5月，农民对小麦植株的健康状况有了很好的了解。

This year's crop has suffered from the extremely dry and cold winter that Kansas experienced.

今年的小麦遭受了堪萨斯州经历的极端干旱和寒冷的冬天。

The weather hurt the grain and kept it from growing well.

天气损害了谷物，使它长得不好。

As a result, farmers are choosing to kill, plow over or give up on their wheat fields.

因此，农民正在选择毁掉、犁平或放弃他们的麦田。

That information comes from a recent survey of industry experts and visits to Kansas farms by Reuters reporters.

这一信息来自行业专家最近的调查和路透社记者对堪萨斯州农场的访问。

Some farmers will make an insurance claim to get a little bit of money.

一些农民会提出保险索赔，以获得一小笔钱。

Others are letting cows walk their fields and eat the plants.

其他人则让奶牛在田里走动，吃小麦植株。

Much of the wheat produced in Kansas is used for making bread.

堪萨斯州生产的小麦大部分被用来制作面包。

This year, many bread makers will have to look for other wheat sources.

今年，许多面包生产商将不得不寻找其他小麦来源。

In nearby states, farmers who planted wheat in late 2022 are also reporting problems.

在附近的几个州，在2022年底种植小麦的农民也报告了问题。

Farmers across the U.S. plan to abandon 33 percent of their winter crop.

美国各地的农民计划放弃33%的冬季作物。

That is the highest percentage in over 100 years, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

根据美国农业部的数据，这是100多年来的最高比例。

About 19 percent of the winter wheat fields in Kansas will not be harvested this spring.

今年春天，堪萨斯州约19%的冬小麦田将不会被收获。

That is up from 10 percent last year and two percent in 2021.

这一数字高于去年的10%和2021年的2%。

Farm experts who recently visited Kansas say the percentage could grow even higher.

最近访问堪萨斯州的农业专家表示，这一比例可能会更高。

Justin Gilpin is chief executive of the Kansas Wheat Commission.

贾斯汀·吉尔平是堪萨斯州小麦委员会的首席执行官。

He said the percentage of abandoned fields could come close to 1989.

他说，废弃农田的比例可能接近1989年。

That year, farmers gave up on 28 percent of their wheat.

那一年，农民放弃了28%的小麦。

"You have a wheat crop that didn't come up," Gilpin said.

吉尔平说：“小麦没有长出来。”

Gilpin noted that there is a great demand for hay.

吉尔平指出，人们对干草的需求很大。

Hay comes from the stems and leaves of plants such as wheat.

干草来自小麦等植株的茎和叶。

The wheat is cut, dried and sent to farms for animals to eat.

小麦被切割、晒干，然后被送到农场供动物食用。

Some farmers are cutting the plants early, making hay and then selling it to animal farms.

一些农民打算提前割下植株，制成干草，然后卖给畜牧场。

In Kansas, farmers are expected to produce only 191.4 million bushels of winter wheat this year.

在堪萨斯州，今年农民预计只能生产1.914亿蒲式耳冬小麦。

That would be the smallest wheat harvest since 1963.

这将是自1963年以来小麦收成最少的一年。

But the Wheat Quality Council, an industry group, believes the amount will be even lower.

但行业组织小麦质量委员会认为，这一数字甚至会更低。

Those in the wheat business are not sure of the numbers yet because they do not yet know how many fields will be abandoned.

小麦行业的人还不确定这个数字，因为他们还不知道有多少田地将会被废弃。

People who work for insurance companies are going around Kansas, looking at fields, and deciding how much they will pay the farmers for their lost crops.

保险公司的工作人员在堪萨斯州四处走动，查看田地，并决定他们将会向失去作物的农民支付多少赔偿金。

Other farmers with dead wheat are thinking of planting sorghum, which could still grow this year even in dry conditions.

其他小麦枯死的农民正在考虑种植高粱，即使在干旱的环境下，高粱今年仍能生长。

The wheat-growing problem is not only in Kansas.

小麦种植问题不仅存在于堪萨斯州。

In the neighboring state of Oklahoma, farmers are also worried about their harvest.

在邻近的俄克拉何马州，农民也担心他们的收成。

In the northern part of the state, close to Kansas, some farmers will only harvest about 35 percent of the wheat they planted last year.

在该州靠近堪萨斯州的北部地区，一些农民今年只能收获去年种植的小麦的35%左右。

Clay Schemm owns land in western Kansas.

克莱·斯图姆在堪萨斯州西部拥有土地。

He said planting wheat in the autumn and then seeing it fail to grow is "kind of like watching a loved one go through a terminal illness."

他说，在秋天种植小麦，然后眼睁睁地看着小麦无法生长，就像“看着亲人患了绝症一样”。

The bad wheat season also hurts the businesses in the area, such as hotels and restaurants.

糟糕的小麦季节也给该地区的企业造成了坏的影响，如酒店和餐馆。

When farmers decide not to harvest their wheat, fewer laborers come to the area to help.

当农民决定不收割小麦时，来该地区帮忙的劳工就会减少。

As a result, not as many people eat at restaurants or stay in hotels.

因此，在餐馆吃饭或住酒店的人就很少。

Kansas State University's College of Agriculture also suffers.

堪萨斯州立大学的农业学院也受到了影响。

It normally gets about $1 million from the Kansas Wheat Commission for programs and research.

它通常从堪萨斯小麦委员会获得约100万美元的项目和研究资金。

However, that money comes from wheat sales.

然而，这笔钱取决于小麦销售额。

If less wheat is sold, less money comes in.

如果小麦销量减少，资金就会减少。

"We may not be able to do as much," said the College of Agriculture's leader, Ernie Minton.

农业学院的负责人欧尼·明顿说：“我们可能得不到这么多。”

"It slows down the whole lifecycle of wheat research."

“它延缓了小麦研究的整个生命周期。”

I'm Dan Friedell.

丹·弗里德尔为您播报。