Kansas wheat harvest report

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This is Day 7 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.

Statewide showers again put a damper on many farmers’ harvests last weekend, but that is not the only challenge that farmers are facing. Short wheat, muddy fields and weed pressure are all making this year’s harvest challenging. The USDA has reported that 40% of the state’s wheat crop has been harvested as of Monday, slightly behind the 50% that had been harvested at this point last year and well behind the 66% average.

Ulysses farmer Larry Kepley has had some fields come in at a total loss, while others have topped out at 20 bushels per acre. Kepley attributes the poor yields to both the drought and freeze damages that his wheat has suffered.  He is seeing a good quality crop, but not a lot of it. He reported that his test weights range from 62-65 pounds per bushel. Most of the area surrounding Ulysses has been brimming with rainfall, but Kepley said that he has received 2 inches of rain during the months of May and June. He hopes to have his harvest wrapped up later Monday evening.

David Clawson, branch manager of Southern Plains Coop in Belpre, reported that farmers in his area are about 75% of the way done with harvest. He said that Belpre has received around 5.5 inches of rain in the last few weeks. Clawson said that the Belpre branch has taken in about 175,000 bushels of wheat, but the total for all 6 Southern Plains locations is less than 800,000 bushels. He said that he has seen a wide variety of yields which are varying between 0-40 bushels an acre. Clawson is expecting a crop that is 25-35% of the average bushels harvested in the Belpre area.

Ottawa Coop grain merchandiser, Matt Vajnar, said that the first load of wheat came into his branch around the 17th of June. He reports that 500,000 bushels have been brought in to all 9 locations of the coop. Vajnar said that the average yield is more than 50 bushels per acre around Ottawa, and their test weights range between 60-61 pounds per bushel. So far the protein content is ranging from 11.5-12.5. The area received almost 9 inches of rain in the first 15 days of June so the farmers in the area have dealt with many muddy fields. He reported that they are still in the first half of this harvest season and that the yields so far have been about 10 bushels an acre lower than 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.