Kansas Wheat Harvest Report, June 22

Kansas Wheat Harvest Report

June 22, 2009

As quickly as wheat harvest started, over the Father's Day weekend it stopped in much of Kansas, thanks to rainfall up to three inches in many areas.

At Ada Grain Co., Minneapolis, harvest began Friday with 40,000 bushels of wheat hauled in. Rain Saturday stopped any harvest progress for the weekend.

Karma Michael, McCune, and wife of Kansas Association of Wheat Growers director Jim, reports that farmers in southeast Kansas are waiting for the ground to dry out a bit before they begin cutting. A lot of test cutting was done on Friday, but a little rain Saturday morning kept farmers out of the field. The wheat is dry and ready to cut, she adds.

KAWG Director Bruce Otte, Moundridge, cut some wheat on Friday, with yields averaging about 45 bushels per acre and 60 pound test weights. Otte expects it will be Tuesday before farmers in central Kansas are in full swing.

Vance Ehmke, Dighton, says harvest has yet to begin in his area of southwest Kansas. Normally, harvest begins June 20, but he expects it to be June 24 before combines are rolling. Recent cool and damp weather is great for the wheat, Ehmke reports. Ehmke expects this to be one of the better harvests in recent years - if the weather holds out.

The 2009 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain and the Kansas Grain & Feed Association.

Kansas Wheat is the cooperative agreement between the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, joining together as "leaders in the adoption of profitable innovations for wheat."