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Indiana’s wheat looks pretty good
Indiana wheat fields entered green-up a little later this year and some worried the cool temperatures and heavy rainfalls would threaten yields. Purdue Extension wheat specialist Shaun Casteel says that has not been the case. “Wheat that has been cut in the southwestern part of the state has had some outstanding yields,” he says. “They’ve been between 90 and 110 and in some cases 120, but 90-110 have been fairly regular reported yields.”
He tells Brownfield the recent swing in wet weather has delayed harvest across much of the central and northern portions of the state. “There still was good wheat in the field and we’re now losing out on some yield potential because of lodging from heavy rains or strong winds,” he says. “Some of the grain is coming out of the head from both of those events, too.”
So what does that mean for those double crop soybeans? Casteel says a good rule of thumb is to find when your first freeze typically lands and then backdate 90 days. “So let’s say October 15th is your typically first fall freeze and you go back 90 days – you can still be confidently planting double crop beans until about that July 15th mark,” he says.
If the weather cooperates – he thinks wheat harvest should wrap up the first part of this month in those southwestern counties and later for farmers further north.
AUDIO: Shaun Casteel, Indiana wheat (5:21mp3)
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