In dry years, when seed zone water is inadequate, farmers will either plant shallowly (2–3 cm deep) into dry soil, delay planting until the arrival of rain in mid-October or later, or postpone planting until spring; all these practices reduce grain yield potential compared with planting early into stored soil water (Donaldson et al., 2001). In addition to increasing grain yield potential, successful early establishment of winter wheat on summer fallow provides protection from water erosion during winter (Papendick and McCool, 1994).