Wheat covers the most land than any other crop, did you know that?

I just found this out during a study that wheat is grown over a larger area than any other single crop in the world.

Wheat is cultivated in nearly every country in the world, including Canada, Russia, India, and Australia. Even countries that are not typically associated with wheat growing have at least some wheat production going on there. For me, the crop may not be all that exciting, but it certainly takes up a lot of ground. I once heard that wheat is essentially a form of insurance for nations, it creates food security. I don't really know if that statement is entirely accurate, but it does seem reasonable.

The crop may not provide as much weight at harvest time like corn or produce near as much revenue for some economies like sugarcane does, but neither crops occupy as much physical space on the planet. When you look at all the wheat that exists around the world, it seems to be everywhere or at least will be soon.

People usually confuse the amount of land used to grow wheat with the actual amount of wheat produced. It is possible to grow a lot of food on a small amount of land if the crop is able to produce very high yields per acre. An example of this would be how rice is grown in Asia. Rice is grown on a relatively small amount of land and produces food for a large number of people, but that concept doesn't apply to wheat growing conditions.

I am not sure how much this has to do with the production of food, but it's clear that the agricultural industry there see it as essential because they continue to produce it. There may be other reasons besides tradition for the continued production of wheat, but I have not researched the recent government policies regarding wheat production or climatic changes that may be taking place where wheat is grown. I think it would be worth knowing.