Harvest update: The rain may have been a blessing in disguise
by James Jordan, Sumner Newscow — The wheat harvest may have dodged a bullet of sorts this year in Sumner County. Rain this week will probably cut down on some quality and may keep farmers out of the fields to some extent, but 80-85 percent of the crop in Sumner County has been harvested.
Lawson Hemberger at MKC grain elevators said the rain may turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
The rain will be good for fall crops, and any double crops, which should offset any losses to wheat crops.
“There will be a little reduction in quality, but if anything it will give everyone a little breather,” he said. “There are pros and cons to having a little rain during harvest.”
Test weights have been fairly consistent between 60 and 61. Proteins have had a wide variety so far, ranging from 9.8 to 19.3.
Hemberger said yields so far are better than expected. The yields are average to a little above average overall around Sumner County. Wheat being brought into MKC is averaging in the 30s as far as bushels per acre. There have been some in the 50s, and some as low as 15. He was surprised with the 50 bushels per acre yields.
A lot depends on whether individual farmers got rain at the right time.
Wet fields are hard to harvest, and at times it’s impossible to get combines into wet fields. One rainstorm will not affect the field conditions that much, though it will affect test weights. You could also lose some grain if the rain was heavy enough, or if there was any hail involved.
Hemberger said it would be a lot different if there had been three days of rain, as opposed to one afternoon with a thunderstorm.
Conditions are similar in Cowley County with about the same percentage of harvest completed. Test weights are about the same and yields are close to the five-year average.
In 2019 there was a lot of rain and flooding, and many fields were left unharvested. The crop was as much as 50 percent of what it normally was in several parts of the county.
The Kansas Wheat Commission reported wheat growing in Stafford County had lower yields than usual, but the quality of the wheat was better. Test weights were between 61 and 64.
In the southwest corner of the state, there has been extreme drought, and that has lowered the state averages somewhat. As reported yesterday, the Kansas Wheat Commission rated 27 percent of the crop as good to excellent, 33 percent fair, and 40 percent poor. This year’s crop is about 10-12 percent ahead of last year as of June 19.
