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Weather gives harvest an early start
By Lindsay West
As we head into the end of June, several regions of the High Plains are nearing completion or have already finished cutting this year's winter Wheat crop. Compared to years past, most of these areas are usually just getting started good heading into the Fourth of July weekend.
Weather factors have posed as the main culprit of the early start to harvest this year, as heat, winds, freezes and hail have all had their hand in accelerating the ripening of Wheat across the High Plains.
Brett Myers, executive vice president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers said having several hot, windy days in May forced plants into early maturity. "When Wheat is stressed, it matures," Myers said. "We had those hot days in May, even a few days over 100 degrees with no moisture, and the plant thinks its time to die and it becomes ready a lot faster."
Myers said the state started out a week to 10 days ahead of the normal starting date. Although recent rains across Kansas have slowed the pace down, harvest is reaching completion in many areas across the state.
The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported June 21 that the state was 40 percent complete with harvest, a figure that is up 30 percent from 2003 and 18 percent above the five-year average.
"The southern part of Kansas started around the first of June and cut for about 17 days, but they've slowed down because of all the rain," Myers said June 18. "Northwestern Kansas has already started cutting wheat, and if it keeps raining much longer, everyone else will catch up with them."
"We've got places in central Kansas, like Great Bend, who is almost finished, while places in the south are only 50 percent done because of the rain delay," Myers said.
Since the early ripening of the Wheat sends harvesters into the fields earlier than usual, many farmers are hit all at once with field duties. "For farmers who are planting other crops, they have to make a decision whether to cut Wheat or put in milo or another crop, yet on the other hand they can get the Wheat off and it allows them to double crop," Myers said.
Keith Kisling, a member of the board of directors for the U.S. Wheat Associates, as well as the Oklahoma Wheat Commission said June 21 that early harvest has helped those who are planting fall crops. "There's a lot of that going on around here," Kisling said. "It was so dry, though, that crops weren't coming up yet, but they're able to come on now after all the rain."
Kisling, who farms near Burlington, Okla. in the north central part of the state said harvest had been finished in his area for a week and a half. "Harvest had started here by May 28, which is about a week to 10 days earlier than usual. Two weeks of hot, dry weather in May ripened the Wheat really fast," Kisling said.
Although winter Wheat was forced to mature early in northern Oklahoma, Kisling said quality was not affected. "We were really surprised the quality was as good as it was," he said. "Yields were a little less, around average. Stands were not as thick because of the drought, but quality was really excellent this year and test weights were up there, too."
Oklahoma is 29 percent ahead of last year's harvest, and 24 percent ahead of the five-year average with 92 percent of the state's Wheat cut, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on June 20.
Texas harvest began around the last week in April in Dilley, Texas, south of San Antonio on I-35, with the rest of the state quickly following suite. Although rains in the Blacklands around the Dallas area pushed harvest behind schedule, Texas statewide is running seven to 10 days ahead of normal, according to Rodney Mosier, executive vice president of the Texas Wheat Producers Association.
Like his colleagues, Mosier credits the hot, dry weather conditions to the advanced cutting. Areas in the High Plains portion of the state have suffered from ongoing drought, which aided in the pre-maturing of Wheat in the panhandle of Texas.
Despite early maturity, Texas Wheat production got off to a good start. Initially, Mosier said, yields and Wheat quality came in excellent before rains began to damper test weights as harvest progressed. "Test weights started out 60 to 61 pounds in some areas, but has gone down to 54 to 58 pounds due to all the rain," Mosier said.
On June 20, Texas had harvest 16 percent more of their Wheat crop than they had by this time in 2003, and 19 percent more than the five-year average. Texas has completed slightly over three-quarters of harvest, according to NASS.
Date: 6/24/04
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