Grainnet

Kansas Wheat Harvest Progresses With Mixed Results

by Frank Zaworski, Associate Editor

As we enter the 4th of July weekend, the annual wheat harvest in Kansas is either boom or bust depending on where in the state one looks.

According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), as of June 30 wheat in the state is 88% ripe for harvest, compared to 94% last year and 96% for the 5-year average.

Thirty-six percent is harvested, compared to 48% last year and 69% for the 5-year average.

Wheat condition is rated as 6% very poor, 16% poor, 37% fair, 33% good, and 8% excellent. Grainnet contacted Kansas elevator managers in four locations to gain their perspective on this year’s wheat harvest.

John Borchers, location manager for DeBruce Grain, Inc. in Abilene, reports that as of July 2, the wheat harvest in his area of central Kansas is 66% to 75% completed.

“This week has been hot and dry, and the harvest is proceeding apace,” Borchers said.

“Yields are great, in the 50 to 60 bushel range with some 70-bushel crops arriving,” said Borchers.

“Test weights are good, averaging about 61 pounds per bushel,” he said.

“But all I can say about protein counts is that they are all over the board.”

Gene Strathman, branch manager at Nemaha County Coop Association, Baileyville, in northeast Kansas, said the harvest is going well but the wheat crop has trouble.

“We are about 30% to 35% harvested but the wheat is sad,” Strathman said.

“Because of wet weather, we have a lot of scab around here,” said Strathman.

“Some fields are a total loss, and what is coming in has test weights all over the place,

“Yields are a good 40% below last year and maybe averaging about 25 bushels, at best,” he said.

Dan Monson, manager at Beachner Grain, Inc. in Walnut, reports that about half the wheat has been cut in his area of southeastern Kansas.

“We are seeing a range of yields from 20 to 60 bushels per acre,” Monson said.

“We are seeing some test weights in the 40-pound range, but most are in the upper 50s.” he said.

In northwestern Kansas, where Daryl Popp manages Frontier Ag, Inc. in Hill City, wheat did not fare as well as in other areas of the state.

“We had many fields that have been completely hailed out,” Popp said.

“We must have had a half dozen nights with heavy hail this season,” he said.

On the up side, Popp said those growers who dodged the hail generally had success with many reporting yields in the 60 to 70 bushel range, with test weights averaging 60 pounds and protein levels around 12%.