VOA新闻杂志2022 拉尼娜导致的干旱威胁到新种植的美国小麦（在线收听）

The planting for hard red winter wheat in the United States is already halfway completed.

美国硬红冬小麦的种植已经完成了一半。

But experts say next year’s crop is already being limited by too little water in the middle of the country.

但专家表示，美国中部地区缺水已经限制了明年的作物产量。

Planting plans may be cut back in the U.S. even with historically high prices for wheat crops at this time of year.

尽管每年这个时候小麦价格处于历史高位，但美国小麦种植面积可能会被削减。

The high prices are a result of rising worldwide demand and limited wheat supplies.

小麦价格高企是全球需求上升和小麦供应有限的结果。

And the U.S. is among the top five wheat exporters worldwide.

美国是全球五大小麦出口国之一。

In the states of Kansas and Oklahoma, the drought threatens crops already in the ground from developing properly.

在堪萨斯州和俄克拉何马州，干旱威胁着已经种在地上的作物的正常生长。

It also discourages farmers from trying to plant more.

这也阻碍了农民设法种植更多作物。

Kent Winter is a farmer in Andale, Kansas.

肯特·温特是堪萨斯州安代尔的一名农民。

Winter described the situation as “grim,” meaning unpleasant or bad to think about.

温特用“严峻的，令人不快的”来形容这种情况，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.

他说，他通常在10月中旬播种，但今年还没有播种小麦。

About two-thirds of wheat in the U.S. is grown as a winter crop rather than as a spring crop.

美国约三分之二的小麦是作为冬季作物而不是春季作物种植的。

Without water, wheat plants may fail to come out from the ground.

如果没有水，小麦植株可能无法长出地面。

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.

即使延迟长出地面也会威胁产量，因为这会缩短植株在冬季之前发育强健根系和发出更多茎（即分蘖）的时间。

Mark Hodges is an agriculture expert with Plains Grains Inc, an Oklahoma-based group that tests wheat for quality.

马克·霍奇斯是Plains Grains Inc的农业专家，Plains Grains Inc是一家总部位于俄克拉何马州的组织，负责检测小麦的质量。

Hodges said, "If you don't have the tillers in the fall, it's really hard to make up that number in the spring."

霍奇斯说，“如果小麦在秋天没有分蘖，那么在春天就很难达到这个数字。”

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.

虽然种植小麦的农民希望获得较高的市场价格，但干旱可能会阻止他们购买和使用高价种子和化肥。

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.

堪萨斯州小麦委员会的贾斯汀·吉尔平预计，2023年堪萨斯州可收获的小麦种植面积将与2022年730万英亩的小麦播种面积持平。

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.

温特表示同意。他说：“随着小麦价格的上涨，许多经营者至少会计划在来年增加种植面积。但这场干旱对计划产生了巨大的影响。”

Poor plant growth could have a longer-term cost as well.

小麦植株生长不良也可能会带来更长期的损失。

Wheat helps keep soil in place, protecting it from wind damage.

小麦有助于保护土壤免受风的破坏。

"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.

堪萨斯州花园平原的农场主马丁·克尔申说：“没有农民愿意看到自己的土地被风吹裂。所以你会继续种植小麦，希望……你能在冬天到来之前播种小麦。”

Wheat is a famously strong crop that can come back from difficult weather conditions.

小麦是一种出名的强壮作物，其可以在恶劣的天气条件下恢复过来。

But weather predictions suggest the drought will likely continue in Kansas and surrounding wheat-producing states through December.

但天气预报显示，干旱可能会在堪萨斯州和周边的小麦生产州持续到12月。

In Kansas, 27 percent of the state is in "exceptional drought," the most extreme kind of drought.

在堪萨斯州，27%的地区处于“异常干旱”状态，这是最极端的干旱类型。

Almost the entire state is unusually dry, said the latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report prepared by a group of climate experts.

由一组气候专家撰写的最新美国干旱监测周报称，几乎整个州都异常干旱。

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.

干旱的一个重要原因是拉尼娜天气模式，它通常会导致该国中部地区产生温暖而干燥的天气。

The current La Nina is in its third year.

目前，美国已第三年出现拉尼娜现象。

I’m John Russell.

约翰·拉塞尔为您播报。