June 29, 2009

The Kansas wheat harvest continues to advance throughout the state, but many farmers have been battling pop-up thunderstorms and muddy fields, according to a report from growers' group Kansas Wheat.

 

Farmers on Thursday were in the fourth day of harvest around Lorraine, in central Kansas, but still "fighting wet ground" in some areas after a weekend storm, producer Mark Splitter said in the report. Test weights have averaged about 59 pounds per bushel to 60 pounds, with protein around 12 percent and yields averaging a "better-than-expected" 50 bushels per acre, the report said.

 

The pace of cutting has accelerated each day since the beginning of the week, said Dell Princ, general manager of Midway Co-op in Osborne, in northern Kansas. Harvest is about 25 percent complete in the area, he said in the report.

 

Yields are "quite variable" around Osborne, but the average is about 40 bushels, according to the report. Test weights average just above 62 pounds, with protein in the low 11 percent area, it said.

 

Wheat around Dodge City, in west-central Kansas, "has rebounded pretty well since a major hailstorm a few weeks ago," said Troy Presley, grain originator at Dodge City Co-op. The company has 14 locations and taken in 1.3 million bushels of wheat so far, he said in the report.

 

The average test weight has been 60 pounds, and yields average about 40 bushels, the report said. Protein is "inconsistent," ranging from 10.5 percent to 14 percent, it said. The crop is about 20 percent harvested throughout the cooperative's trade area.

 

Harvest had just begun around the Ottawa Co-op, in eastern Kansas, before a thunderstorm stopped progress on Wednesday, according to Kansas Wheat. There are reports of slight head scab in the area, although the problem is not as severe as last year, it said. Scab, also known as Fusarium head blight, is a fungal disease that can lower grain quality and yields.

 

"Wheat acres are way down in east central Kansas, and quality will be mediocre," the report said.

 

Harvest in southeast Kansas is "going strong, although farmers have been fighting muddy fields from the outset," according to Kansas Wheat. Producer Jim Michael in McCune said hard red winter wheat yields were in the 40s, and test weights have been "good," the report said. Kansas is the country's top producer of HRW wheat, used to make bread.

 

Kansas farmers planted wheat on 9.6 million acres this year and are expected to produce 340 million bushels, with an average yield of 40 bushels, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Last year, wheat was planted on 10.4 million acres and production came in at 356 million bushels, with an average yield of 40 bushels.

 

Kansas Wheat is the cooperative agreement between the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers. The group issues harvest reports throughout the cutting season.