Wheat quality tour participants will assess wheat crop

The registration date for the annual Hard Winter Wheat Quality Tour is coming up soon. The tour, sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council, assesses the condition and yield potential of the hard winter wheat crop across the state of Kansas.

This year’s tour dates will be April 28 to May 1. The tour serves as an educational and networking opportunity for those who attend. Participants gain a firsthand understanding of what it takes for farmers to grow, manage, harvest and market the crop.

“I think many people are overestimating this crop in many ways,” said Ben Handcock of the Wheat Quality Council. “We’re not getting any rain. We need a couple inches in central and western Kansas.”

These tours are a tremendous learning experience for any new people in the industry. They are also a great mentoring opportunity since each car on the tour has a tour veteran that can help teach any newcomers. This training and mentoring opportunity is an extremely good value for the amount of fundamental wheat industry knowledge that a person can acquire in just three short days.

Many foreign buyers of Kansas wheat will participate, giving those folks a chance to see the high quality of the Kansas crop.

More than 600 crop evaluations will be made in wheat fields throughout the state, and yield estimates made using a formula developed by the National Agriculture Statistics Service.

The current wheat crop has been struck with effects of winterkill and the drought. The extent of damage will be assessed during the wheat quality tour.

“People are going to see wind damage like they haven’t seen in a long time,” Handcock said. “They better come look.”

Encourage others from your organization or fraternal organizations to join you. A better educated wheat industry is beneficial to all of us.