August 31, 2009

US spring wheat producers expect that this year's delayed harvest will continue to progress slowly as shortened days offer a smaller window for cutting.

 

Harvest is off to a slow start after the crop was planted late in the spring due to excessively cool, wet weather. In North Dakota, the largest growing state for spring wheat, the crop was only seven percent cut as of Sunday, down from the average of 62 percent, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

 

Conditions next week are expected to turn warm and sunny, which is favourable for harvest, but hard red spring wheat is not mature enough to cut in many areas, producers said. Plants still look green, instead of the golden color of ripe wheat, as cool, cloudy days haven't encouraged development, they said.

 

"We're just getting started combining," said Dave Clough, a grower in Fessenden, N.D. "Normally we should be finishing up."

 

Once the crop ripens, producers will have a shorter window to cut it each day because they will have to wait for dew to dry on the plants before charging into the fields. That means many growers won't be able to start cutting until 1 p.m. or so and then will have to quit around 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. as night falls, Clough said.

 

"We've been getting so cool at night and we have so much dew in the morning it makes for short harvest days," said Dale Siebert, an extension agent for North Dakota State University in Richland County, in the southeast corner of the state. "We just have to deal with it."

 

Wheat is mostly mature and ready to cut in Richland County but "still needs a little time to mature" in areas farther north and west, Siebert said. Clough estimated it would be another week to 10 days before a good portion of his crop was ripe enough to harvest.

 

"It's going to be a long harvest," he said. "I'm not looking forward to it."

 

Growers said they hope warm weather in the northern US. Plains next week will help advance the crop. Little rain and warmer-than-usual temperatures are expected through September 4, according to a forecast from World Weather Inc.

 

"Excellent late-season crop maturation and harvest conditions will prevail over the coming week," the private weather firm said.

 

Many daily highs will reach the 70s and 80s Fahrenheit next week across spring wheat regions, World Weather said. However, a cooling trend will follow a big boost in rainfall that's expected September 5 to 8, the firm said.

 

Rain is undesirable at harvest time as it prevents farmers from cutting and can reduce quality and cause sprouting, Siebert said. That has not become a problem yet, he said.

 

Results of early cutting have confirmed expectations for strong yields and low protein levels, although there is still a long way to go. Producers had expected low protein levels because the crop avoided stress during the summer. There is often a trade-off between high yields and low protein.

 

Siebert said some growers in his area have seen yields of 50 to 60 bushels per acre and protein of 13 percent to 13.5 percent. The standard protein level is 14 percent.

 

Clough said he cut 50 acres Thursday (Aug 27) on some poorer quality land and had yields in the mid-60s, with protein of 12.8 percent. Joel Ransom, an extension agronomist for NDSU, heard a report of yields at 70 bushels and protein at 11 percent.

 

"I'm guessing that that's going to be the story for a lot of the state," he said.

 

HRS wheat is normally prized for its high protein content and used to make bread. It is often blended with other, lower-protein varieties.