Kansas wheat harvest report

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This is Day 11 of the 2014 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

Fields across Kansas continue to dry up as farmers statewide are scrambling to finish harvesting their wheat. Yields have continued to be lower than average, but have remained above expectations for the year’s harvest. The quality of the wheat has dropped slightly due to the influx of rainfall, but still remains good overall.

Susan Galdanbach, a representative of Ag Valley Coop in Norton, said that they received their first load almost two weeks ago. So far the location has gotten around 475,000 bushels during those two weeks. Farmers in the area have reported yields ranging from 20-60 bushels an acre. Norton has not received much of the rains that have affected the state over the last few weeks, so test weights have remained steady at 59-64 pounds per bushel. Galdanbach predicts that this year the area’s harvest will actually be better than last year. She reported a protein content of 13-14% and no issues with dockage.

David Schemm, a farmer from Sharon Springs, said that his harvest has taken much longer than normal, but he hopes to be done Monday by noon. He reported that his lowest field average was about 15-18 bushels an acre while his highest yielding was about 50 bushels an acre. His test weights have dropped about half a pound since the rains. His earlier planted fields have averaged from 57-58 pounds per bushel and his later planted fields are around 61-62 pounds per bushel. Schemm noted that he has seen more freeze damage than he originally expected. He expects that his final totals will be much better than last year. Schemm said, “Last year is a year that we never want to repeat.”

Scott Cooperative representative Steve Kite, based in Scott City, reported that his company has received around 2.5 million bushels during this harvest season for all seven locations. Irrigated wheat has been averaging 55-60 bushels an acre while dryland wheat is averaging about 20-25 bushels an acre. Kite noted that many fields have totally been zeroed out because of the previously dry conditions. But, over the last three weeks, some fields in the Scott City area have received up to 12 inches of rain. The rain has taken its toll on the area’s test weights as they have fallen an average of 3 pounds per bushel from 62.5 to around 59.5 pounds per bushel. Protein value has also decreased due to the rains to around 12%. Kite sees no serious issues so far in dockage. He estimates that they will receive 20% less wheat this year than the cooperative saw last year.

The 2014 Harvest Report is brought to you by Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and Kansas Grain and Feed Association.