“The 2018 Kansas Wheat harvest continued to roll on throughout the beginning of the week,” Kansas Wheat said. “Monday’s Crop Progress report estimated that 2% of Kansas wheat acres had been cut through the weekend, but with warm, dry and windy conditions, harvested acres will continue to quickly rise.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in its June 12 Crop Production report left its forecast of Kansas wheat production unchanged from May at 270.1 million bushels, down 19% from 2017, and average yield unchanged at 37 bushels per acre, down 23% from last year. Harvested area also was unchanged from May at 7.3 million bushels, up 5% from 2017.
Butler county farmer David Janzen, who began harvesting late June 11, said all test weights had been over 60 pounds per bushel, although others in the community reported slightly lower-than-normal test weights, Kansas Wheat said. He noted that his crop received some rain early during planting but did not receive measurable relief again until near maturity, which was “too little, too late.” Some freeze damage was noted with white tips on wheat heads, but Janzen did not see the negative impact on yield that had been expected, with average yields “a pleasant surprise” in the mid 30-bushel-per-acre range.
Farmers Coop Elevator in Halstead, Kansas, U.S., received its first load of wheat on June 7, considerably earlier than expected, said manager Jack Queen.
“When it doesn’t rain, and it gets hot, it speeds things right along,” Queen said. He reported yields ranging from 25 to 50 bushels per acre with the wide variation the result of fertilizer use and spotty rains. Test weights ranged from 59 to 62 pounds per bushel, and protein has averaged in the 13% range, about half a per cent above the last few years.
Wheat in the Halstead area also had experienced some late freezes, but yields appear to have been minimally affected. Queen expects harvest in the area will be completed next week if it doesn’t rain.
The lack of moisture limited disease problems in both Butler county and in the Halstead area, Janzen and Queen noted.
