Wichita ? Concern for the Kansas wheat crop is growing as another dry winter worsens the drought situation, especially in the hard-hit northwest part of the state.

This week, the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service rated 21 percent of the state’s wheat in poor to very poor condition.

“That is probably a fair assessment,” said Jim Shroyer, a wheat specialist at Kansas State University Extension and Research. “Things are not good in western Kansas.”

The drought was especially bad last year in northwestern Kansas, and the drought-stressed area is now expanding, Shroyer said. Some of the wheat planted in the northwest has not even germinated, he said.

“We had such a good (wheat) crop last year everybody forgets northwest Kansas did not have a good crop last year,” he said. “They are in dire need of a crop.”

Brett Myers, executive vice president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, said prospects for the wheat crop varied widely depending on location.

While there are major growing areas in western Kansas where it is still dry, much of central Kansas has gotten enough moisture. The statistics service ranked the rest of the state’s wheat crop as 26 percent fair, 46 percent good and 7 percent excellent.

In its latest crop weather report this week, the statistics service also reported that about 80 percent of the state reported no wind damage, while 81 percent reported no freeze damage to date.

But with temperatures dropping and little snow on the ground, the dry soils are making the wheat crop more vulnerable to winter kill, Shroyer said. Without cover, both the wheat plants and the soil can blow away.