No "Turkey Red" Grain

In the 1870s, the Russian government revoked the exemption from conscription of a group of Volga German Mennonites.

Given the Mennonites' militant pacifism, they didn't like this, so they came to America where they could practice their religion and way of life in peace. They brought with them a special grain strain called "turkey red" that could grow in the winter.

More info:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_wheat
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/609943/Turkey-Red-wheat
http://www.kansasphototour.com/gossel.htm

So what if "turkey red" never came to the United States? Say the Czars left them alone or the Czarist regime managed to destroy their community through conscription/assimilation measures and "turkey red" got lost?

Methinks the US and the world would be a much poorer, unhappier place with reduced wheat harvests in the US. I get the impression that in Russia, "turkey red" was not something particularly widespread, so if the Mennonites stayed, it would have been a local thing and not the uber-crop it became in the US.

There are other winter breeds.

AngleAngel said:

There are other winter breeds.

Click to expand...

Are they as successful as "turkey red"?

The information gathered by the Google searches I did re: "turkey red" in the home-schooling thread seems to indicate "TR" was a revolution in agriculture in Kansas, with one site going so far as to say there wasn't any winter wheat there at all.

Okay, taking AA's contribution into account, I imagine if winter wheat strains exist, sooner or later, someone is going to try to plant them.

Let's say Kansas becomes as productive as OTL, at a later point historically. What effects on the US and the world could this have?

(This would primarily be the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.)

Here's one possible butterfly: Herbert Hoover made his name feeding starving Belgians during and after World War I. With less food available, his efforts are less successful and he doesn't become a major political figure.

Alternative scenario: Other strains are used in place of "turkey red" but they're not as successful. Kansas doesn't become as productive as OTL, period, but it's more productive than the "no winter wheat at all" scenario of the OP.

Here's one thought: Apparently the Soviets bought a lot of US grain in the 1970s. With less grain to sell, the Soviets won't be able to buy as much of it as OTL or they're going to pay a much higher price.

Effects on the USSR?

Does winter wheat actually matter that much?

Saskatchewan, for instance, does VERY nicely with spring wheat.

I imagine that this will have some fairly significant social and political consequences. While the American great plains are still far from worthless, its farmers have lost access to a crop which added significant element of stability towards its crop yields. One can still grow other strains of wheat, different crops, or raise livestock and still make a good living. However bad winters will add a great deal more volatility to the life and finances of the average farmer while making them more vulnerable towards the manipulations of the rail and flour trusts.

Politically, this will probably extend the life of the populists and their ilk. We may eventual see a wider scope of the progressive movement, with several states eventual forming state owned banks, flour mills, and grain silos. Demographically, this will probably mean a less populated west, with proto Oakies leaving the country side and returning east for urban factory jobs.