Winter-wheat cultivation was introduced in Abilene in the mid-1870s and remains economically important. Abilene is still a shipping point for livestock, as well as for grain and other agricultural products, and it has some light industry.

…inches (400 millimeters) per year,winter wheat is the most favored crop, although spring wheat is planted in some areas where severe winter killing may occur. (Grain sorghum is another crop grown in these areas.) Where some summer rainfall occurs, dry beans are an important crop. All dryland crop yield…

…two-year growth cycle required ofwinter wheat. By partially germinating the seed and then chilling it to 0 °C (32 °F) until spring, it is possible to causewinter wheat to produce a crop in the same year.

Winter wheats are planted in the autumn and harvested in late spring or early summer. Both spring and winter wheats are grown in different regions of the United States and Russia. Winter varieties can be grown only where the winters are sufficiently mild. Where winters…