Day 1 Wheat Tour
The wheat tour is held every year to get an idea of the yields and production of the crop. Crop scouts take measurements in fields across their routes, using a formula developed by USDA/NASS to estimate the yield for each field. These estimates are averaged in each car, and then combined with all cars to get a yield estimate each day. The average calculated yield for day 1 was 47.2 bushels per acre, compared with only 34.3 bushels per acre along the same route last year.
On Tuesday, scouts reported seeing some stripe rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, early season drought stress, and freeze damage. Overall, wheat looked as good or better than expected. Almost all wheat was between late boot stage and early flowering stage.
The NASS report on Monday rated Kansas winter wheat condition 2 percent very poor, 8 poor, 38 fair, 46 good, and 6 excellent. Winter wheat jointed was 97 percent. Headed was 49 percent, ahead of 34 last year and well ahead of 28 average.
A small group of scouts from Colorado began the tour there and headed east to Colby. They reported an average yield of 39 bushels per acre in Colorado and estimated production at 78 million bushels for the state.
Nebraska reported that 95% of the state’s crop is currently rated good to excellent, with an average yield of 55 bushels per acre. They are estimating 70.4 million bushels of production this year, up from only 46 million bushels last year.
On their way across Kansas, participants were able to stop at some interesting locations across the state, including the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, They Also Ran Museum, and Barbed Wire Museum in addition to the World’s Largest Porch Swing in Nebraska.
While scouts anticipated seeing a lot of stripe rust, reports came in that many of the fields had been sprayed with fungicide to prevent the spread of the disease. Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat VP of Operation and Research, commended farmers for their management practices. He said, “Farmers need a round of applause for taking care of rust issues before they became a huge issue.”
Jeanne Falk Jones, KSU multi-county agronomy specialist, concurred. She discussed what extension is doing to educate producers about what they could do to get out in front of stripe rust.
Romulo Lollato, KSU wheat and forages extension specialist, discussed three major freeze events that have occurred this spring, including one in northwest Kansas earlier this week. Falk Jones said, “We had cold temperatures Monday morning. It will take us 10 days to 2 weeks to know if we have any damage from that.”
The tour will continue on Wednesday, with routes between Colby and Wichita. It wraps up on Thursday with an overall yield and production estimate for the state of Kansas. To follow along with tour participants, follow #wheattour16 on Twitter.
By Marsha Boswell