Kansas may be on the verge of harvesting its lowest wheat crop since 1957 — not good news for the breadbasket of the United States.

This episode of Farm Progress365 takes a deep dive into the 2023 Wheat Quality Council’s Winter Wheat Tour on May 16-18. Host Jennifer Latzke, editor of Kansas Farmer; Aaron Harries, vice president of research and operations for Kansas Wheat; and Jacqueline Holland, grain analyst for Farm Futures, discusses:

All three traversed miles across Kansas as part of the tour. On the final day, the three sat down for a live, unscripted conversation about the event. Click on the above video to listen as they offer you their perspective of the tour and its findings, firsthand insight, and market implications.

Here’s a few takeaways from the event:

Weather. Drought. Freeze damage. Short wheat. Smaller wheat heads. Abandoned acres. Tour participates saw damage from many weather-related challenges.

Better yields. Irrigated acres will have the potential for the highest yields along the tour.

Data gathering. Cars filled with volunteers scoured the countryside, stopping at wheat fields to measure and calculate yield potential.

Final estimates. The three-day average yield estimate across the tour routes was 30 bushels per acre, giving a final estimated yield of just 178 million bushels for the Kansas wheat crop. That is 13 million bushels lower than the most recent USDA number of 191 million bushels

Change happens. Yield estimates offer a brief snapshot in time of the wheat crop. But a lot can happen in the next four to six weeks until harvest to change that yield picture.

About FarmProgress365

This multimedia platform lets you take part in live learning sessions regarding all things impacting your farm.

FarmProgress365 brings in guests from inside and outside the agriculture industry to offer their unique perspectives on a variety of topics from markets to setting up your sprayer. Each episode is roughly 30 minutes.

Don’t worry if you missed the live event; all programs are recorded to watch later from your tractor cab or machine shop. Simply visit FarmProgress365 to view all the agriculture and technology content.