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Weather slowing winter wheat harvest in Kansas

A south-central Kansas farmer says excessive rainfall has significantly slowed this year’s winter wheat harvest pace.

Tim Turek says, “I’ve cut one combine bin full of wheat.”

He tells Brownfield that rainfall over the last month has delayed winter wheat harvest almost three weeks.  “We came through the winter and early spring very dry. Somebody asked me early when we would be cutting wheat, and I said if it doesn’t rain, we’d be cutting around Memorial Day. Of course, it started raining after that.”

According to the USDA, 20 percent of the Kansas winter wheat crop has been harvested, which is well behind last year and the five-year average.

He says test weight and yield potential could be impacted due to high wind and flooding.  “We were going to have pretty good wheat, probably around 40-80 (bushels per acre), probably would’ve been average, about 50. I imagine we’ve taken the top end out now and we’re probably closer to 40.”

Sixty-five percent of the corn crop is rated good to excellent, and 64 percent of soybeans are rated good to excellent.