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Kansas winter wheat crop benefiting from rain

An extension agronomist with Kansas State University says recent rainfall could help increase winter wheat yields.

Tina Sullivan, who covers northeast Kansas, says moisture in the last two weeks has improved crop conditions. “We were a little concerned when the USDA came out with that 40 to 50 bushels per acre and some of our wheat fields because I thought how are we going make it? Now, we’ve gotten that timely rain so we should probably get to that 40-to-50-bushel range, maybe even more.”

But, she tells Brownfield, she is concerned about lodging. “I have seen some damage in southeast Kansas, and I’ve heard reports from southwest Kansas of some of those winds that were associated with some of the squall lines.”

Sullivan says those areas may not be a complete loss and will depend on if the crop can pick itself back up prior to harvest.