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Sluggish winter wheat harvest in Kansas continues with wet weather

Winter wheat harvest has been delayed in the US’s top producing state due to severe storms and significant rain events.

Aaron Harries with the Kansas Wheat Commission tells Brownfield it’s usually wrapped up by now, but “(It’s) almost 65 percent complete, and it’s really moving along slowly in the western part of the state because farmers are seeing frequent rainstorms coming off the High Plains at night and then they’re waiting for their fields to dry out.”

He tells Brownfield yields have been variable with additional weed pressure and lodging from wind and hail, but the quality is good. “Our protein levels have stayed relatively high at 12 percent or higher in most places.  Test weights for harvest started off really well around 61 to 62 pounds per bushel.  Every time you get rain on the crop it tends to knock the test wait down a little bit where we’re getting down to the 58-to-60-pound test weight range.”

Harries says harvest should wrap up in the next two weeks, but the moisture will help recharge the soil profiles for the next crop.