What’s Happening with Kansas Wheat Harvest?

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KANSAS CITY (Reuters) — Hot, windy days are helping the Kansas wheat harvest progress rapidly.

Kari Nusz, manager of the Anthony Farmers Coop in Harper says harvest has been underway since Friday and about 150,000 bushels have been taken in so far. Test weights average 63 pounds per bushel and yields have been as high as 40 bushels per acre. Nusz says farmers seem pleased with harvest overall, as it is better than expected. She expects to take in about 500,000 bushels, well below last year’s 800,000 bushel harvest.

There is still a lot of green wheat near Cunningham, which has prompted Aaron Murphy, general manager of the Cairo Coop Equity Exchange at Cunningham, to encourage farmers to go fishing for a few days while the wheat crop finishes ripening. If the weather stays hot and dry harvest should be in full force by the end of the week; limited action thus far shows test weights averaging 61.5 pounds per bushel and yields ranging from 20- to 30 bushels per acre.

At the Two Rivers Coop in Udall, Danny Coble says harvest is not yet in full swing, with just about 25,000 bushels taken in so far this week. Early test weights have ranged from 62 to 65 pounds per bushel, and yields from 25 to 32 bushels per acre. Coble expects that by Friday, harvest action will be widespread.

It’s a miserable harvest near Sitka, where Chris Jellison with the Farmers Coop Company says yields range from 6 to 25 bushels per acre. Quality is the bright spot in this year’s crop. Although protein values have not been received yet, test weight has averaged 62 pounds per bushel.

Early into the 2011 harvest, Kingman farmer Mike Maloney says it is amazing how the crop has hung in, given it has suffered from dramatic drought since the first of the year. Harvesting wheat grown on sandy soils, Maloney has had yields ranging from 10 to 35 bushels per acre with protein averaging 13, with his best wheat yet to come. Maloney says harvest progress is excellent, with no mud and low humidity, allowing farmers to start combining early and running late in the day.

Source:  Reuters

Posted by Haylie Shipp

 

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