MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas State University agronomy professor says snow cover left over from early winter snowfall helped protect the wheat crop from frigid temperatures.

Professor Jim Shroyer says the snow cover reduced the risk of damage to winter wheat in bitterly cold conditions in much of the state in recent weeks.

Soil temperatures on Jan. 6 were about 9 degrees in Republic County in north-central Kansas, while further west they were in the mid- to upper 20s in Garden City and Colby.

Shroyer says that some damage can be expected when the soil temperature drops into the single digits, meaning crop damage was less likely in the western part of the state.

He says wheat stalks are most resistant to winter conditions from mid-December to mid-January.