Kansas Wheat Harvest Report - June 26

Kansas Wheat Harvest Report

June 26, 2009

An Audio Version Here. 

This is day six of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain & Feed Association and Kansas Wheat.

The Kansas Wheat Harvest continues to progress throughout the state, although many farmers are continuing to battle popup thunderstorms and muddy fields.

Mark Splitter, who farms near Lorraine, is in his fourth day of harvesting in central Kansas. Test weights have averaged about 59-60 pounds per bushel, protein about 12 and yields a better-than-expected 50 bushel per acre average. After a weekend storm, farmers in the area are still fighting wet ground.

Dell Princ, general manager of Midway Co-op in Osborne, says the pace has accelerated each day since the first of the week and the harvest is about 25% complete. Yields are quite variable, but the average is about 40 bushels per acre. Test weights average just over 62 pounds per bushel, with protein in the low 11s.

Troy Presley, grain originator at Dodge City Co-op, says the wheat has rebounded pretty well since a major hailstorm a few weeks ago. The company has 14 locations and has taken in 1.3 million bushels thus far, with an average test weight of 60 pounds per bushel and yields averaging about 40 bushels per acre. Protein is inconsistent, ranging from 10.5 to 14. The crop is about 20% harvested throughout the cooperative's trade area.

Harvest had just begun at the Ottawa Coop, before a thunderstorm stopped progress on Wednesday. Wheat acres are way down in east central Kansas, and quality will be mediocre. There are reports of slight head scab presence, although nothing nearly as severe as last year's problem.

Jim Michael, McCune, reports his fields of soft wheat have yielded in the 50s and hard wheat in the 40s. Test weights for both classes have been good. Harvest in southeast Kansas is going strong, although farmers have been fighting muddy fields from the outset.

Meanwhile, Kansas State University's International Grains Program has launched an Internet-based Wheat Harvest Survey for 2009. The site features GIS maps with data as the samples start to come in to the Quality Laboratories. Click here to see it.

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."