June 14 was the first day of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, compiled by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council.

Wheat harvest in Kansas started off slow, with some farmers test cutting in south-central Kansas as early as June 7. The outlook of rain in the forecast really got combines rolling on June 13, but storms moved through the area again the evening of June 13 and sent farmers out of the fields. Rainfall amounts ranged from 0.70 inch in Hutchinson to more than 2 inches in Newton.

Garden Plain

Martin Kerschen, a Garden Plain area wheat farmer, reported that he received an inch of rain Wednesday morning, but he has no complaints. He has harvested about 15,000 bushels so far, and yields are ranging from 30 to 45 bushels per acre on continuous wheat fields.

“We’ve received only 6 inches of rain on this wheat, with 3½ inches coming in the last month and salvaging a dismal crop,” he says, crediting excellent genetics for its drought tolerance. Before the rain, he started harvesting a double-crop field of wheat after corn, and it was averaging only about 15 bushels per acre.

Castleton

Corey Meal of MKC’s Castleton location reported that the company took in its first load on June 9. While it’s very early in the harvest, so far test weights are averaging 61 pounds, and protein, 11.5%. Moisture is still high, with Tuesday’s wheat at 14% to 15% moisture. 

Meal expects the location will see fewer bushels this year — only 60% to 75% of last year. While a few fields in the area have been baled for straw, the lower bushels are primarily due to lower yields this year caused by the ongoing drought. He said he’s seen fields in the area with some weed pressure coming in.

Conway Springs

Chris Stevens of Farmers Coop Grain Association in Conway Springs reported the co-op took in its first load on June 7, but they’re only 5% to 8% complete so far. 

“Harvest just can’t get going,” he says, reporting that they’ve received hit-and-miss showers over the last week. Stevens expects to take in only half of the bushels they normally receive, saying yields in the area aren’t good and will probably average about half of last year’s yields. 

One potential bright spot is that the test weights are decent — above 60 pounds per bushel so far — and Stevens thinks yields may end up being a bit better than farmers expected before they received some early-summer rains.

Stevens says harvest will wrap up in about 14 days once it gets started. Forecasts for next week are calling for hot and dry weather, but that weather was forecast this week and it ended up raining several days. He said weeds are coming into the fields.

For farmers who are seeing weed pressure, there are a few options available. Farmers should contact their local Extension office or agronomist for herbicide choices. In addition, Sarah Lancaster, Kansas State University weed management specialist, wrote an article on preharvest weed control in wheat. It’s available at bit.ly/preharvestweedcontrol.

To follow along with harvest updates on Twitter, use #wheatharvest23. Tag Kansas Wheat at @kansaswheat on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share your harvest story and photos.

Source: Kansas Wheat