By AJ Dome/Manhattan Mercury
The Kansas wheat harvest is fully underway, and ag producers are trying to finish cuttings after recent storms brought interruptions.
The wheat harvest across the state is about 30% complete, according to officials from the Kansas Wheat Commission. This time last year saw only 6% harvest completion, while the average for the week ending June 16 is 8% complete.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service rated winter wheat conditions at 25% poor to very poor, 36% fair and 39% good to excellent.
Fourth-generation farmer Bryant Olson is in the middle of cutting his fields in Dickinson County. His family began harvesting on June 7 in hopes of avoiding thunderstorm activity. Olson told Kansas Wheat that test weights from his crops fell after recent rains from 62 pounds per bushel to 60.
Protein levels range from 12% to more than 13%. Olson said his harvest should wrap up in about a week, which is early enough to not have to worry about weed pressure.
“Hopefully it doesn’t rain too much before we get it all up, and we will be sitting a lot better than last year,” Olson said.
In western Kansas, ag producers have contended with recent hailstorms followed by hot, windy conditions. The Bellefont coop elevator typically takes between 750,000 and 900,000 bushels per season, but total bushels this year will be much less, according to Offerle Coop Grain and Supply Co. CEO Josh Schmitt.
Schmitt is hoping for a total between 120,000 and 150,000 bushels before producers finish cutting around July 1. The wheat being collected is good quality, with test weights ranging from 57 to 59 pounds per bushel, and protein levels averaging 13.5%.
In Pratt County, ag producer Jackie Mundt told Kansas Farm Bureau that her family’s first day of harvest consisted of “two hours of cutting followed by an inch and a half of rain.” That pattern of cuttings being interrupted by thunderstorms lasted throughout the first two weeks of harvest.
“We’ve been praying for rain for months, so we will gladly have some anxiety about not getting wheat cut in a timely manner,” Mundt said.
The forecast calls for sparse rain chances over the next several days. Temperatures are expected to climb from the mid-80s up to around 90 degrees through the end of the week.
The next chance of rain for the Manhattan area is possible Saturday night. A pattern of sunny skies and temperatures above 90 degrees begins Sunday and will linger through next week.
