June 9, 2004

US Kansas Wheat Harvest Gets Underway
 

As of Sunday, winter wheat harvest was 12% complete nationally, when normally just 7% would have been harvested, according to Monday's Crop Progress report from USDA. Oklahoma has harvested 62% of acres, and Texas has brought in one-third of its crop.

According to the report, wheat harvest in Kansas was less than 1% complete as of Sunday. But, Monday's crop progress report from the Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service noted wheat harvest had begun in the southwest and south central parts of the state.

The state agency reports 20% of the wheat is ripe, compared with 4% last year and 10% for the five-year average. Wheat condition there is rated 25% very poor, 23% poor, 26% fair, 24% good, and 2% excellent. Eighty-six percent of the wheat is turning, compared with 62% last year at this date and 66% for the 5-year average.

Today's wheat harvest report from the Kansas Wheat Growers Association (KAWG) and Cargill AgHorizons, shows farmers have been dodging showers and cloudy skies, but are revving up their combines with a favorable weather forecast for the next few days. Test weights so far have been between 57 and 60 pounds, with 12-15% moisture.

Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service's May forecast for the state's 2004 wheat crop pegs it at 369 million bushels, down 23% from the 2003 crop. This year's crop is expected to be harvested from 9 million acres, down 1 million acres from last year. Farmers there planted 9.9 million acres this year down from 10.4 million acres in 2003.