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Wheat harvest ventures north into Kansas, Missouri, ColoradoBy Doug Rich and Jennifer M. Latzke On June 25 Steve Sheperd, president of the U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc., was cutting wheat in the Texas Panhandle north of Amarillo. Sheperd said there was no huge shortage of custom wheat cutters this year but there were no extra cutters either. "It is not like it used to be where farmers could go to town and find cutters sitting on the corner waiting for a job," Sheperd said. "Everybody is spoken for." "There are not as many cutters, we can see that in our membership," Sheperd said. "The combines are bigger now and it does not take as many to cut the crop. Two or three of these big combines today can cut as much as four to five combines did in the past. I can cut 1,000 acres in two days with just two combines. If it is nice dryland cutting with big fields." Diesel prices are high and making it tough for the custom cutters this year. Sheperd said he has paid from $3.65 to $4.40 per gallon for diesel fuel for his combines. The wheat was not very good in the area where Sheperd was cutting. Dryland fields were averaging from 5 to 10 bushels an acre while irrigated fields ranged from eight to 70 bushels per acre. "There is a lot of disease and drought damage in this wheat," Sheperd said. "Three different diseases came into this wheat and on some of the irrigated wheat they just quit watering it." Sheperd said they would be moving to Sharon Springs, Kan., over the weekend. Kansas The Ottawa Cooperative at Edgerton, Kan., had taken in two loads of wheat early on June 25. Harvest was just getting underway and test weights were running around 58 to 59 pounds per bushel. In Miami County, Kan., Mark Flory, Miami County Extension Agent, said they were definitely getting into harvest on June 25. Flory said the wheat was averaging around 35 bushels per acre with decent test weights around 56 pounds. Wet weather has delayed harvest and Flory said some of the wheat was not quite ready to cut. Flory said harvest was 30 to 40 percent completed in the Miami County area in eastern Kansas. On June 25 Kansas Wheat reported that showers and high humidity in eastern and western Kansas limited harvest progress to the central portion of the state. Ray McGavran, Ada Grain Co., Inc., in Minneapolis, Kan., said he had reports of farmers harvesting 60 to 70 bushels per acre with 61 to 62 pound test weights and 11.6 percent protein. Harvest in Ottawa County was just getting underway. The elevator reported they had taken in 200,000 bushels so far. Ron Gruber, manager of the Southern Plains Co-op in Lewis said harvest is about 30 percent complete in his area. The cooperative six elevators have taken in about 700,000 bushels of good quality grain averaging 61 pounds per bushel and 11 to 12 percent protein. Yields have ranged from 5 bushels per acre on hail damaged fields to 91 bushels per acre on irrigated fields. Missouri The grain elevator at Lockwood, Mo., had a big day on June 24 and was expecting another big day on June 25. Mike Dawes said they had taken in about 60,000 bushels so far. Dawes said the quality has been a little better than they thought it might be with all of the wet weather. Test weights have been around 56 to 57 pounds per bushel with average yields. Dawes estimated that wheat harvest in his area was 25 to 30 percent complete as of June 24. Trucks were lined up at MFA Grain in Lamar, Mo., on June 24. They were lined up two-wide when the elevator opened for business on June 24. Terri, who works at the elevator, said that is how they ended the day before as well. "We are in full-fledged harvest," Terri said. On the previous Saturday and Sunday afternoon they took in a little over 45,000 bushels. Test weights are running between 55 and 58 pounds per bushel. Colorado Wheat harvest in southeastern Colorado has been surprisingly good, despite dry weather that has reduced yields from last year, according to Matt Overturf of Skyland Grain, LLC, in Johnson, Kan. Skyland Grain has offices in Buckeye and Walsh, Colo., as well as various locations in southwest Kansas. "Company-wide, from Big Bow to Walsh and from Buckeye to Syracuse, as of this morning, we've brought in about 800,000 bushels," Overturf said. "We're probably about one-third done in Johnson and Big Bow area, and 20 percent done farther west and north." Growers around Syracuse, Kan., have only just begun cutting, but should be in full swing by the end of the week, he added. The quality of the wheat coming across the scales has been a surprise to Overturf and his crew. "Around Johnson, we're seeing yields ranging from 15 to 30 bushels per acre, with occasionally a field at 35 bushels per acre," he said. "North of Buckeye, they've cut some 40-bushel wheat out there." Irrigated acres are bringing in better yields, at about 50 bushels per acre. Compared to last year's yields, though, this year is a wreck, he added. Last year, Skyland brought in a whopping 13 million bushels of winter wheat company-wide. This year, Overturf optimistically hoped for 3 million bushels. "There have been areas of the county without an inch of rain in the last year," Overturf said. "We've even missed the storms that have hit the area the past few days. It's as dry as we've ever seen it. You talk to old-timers and they haven't seen it dry like this in 60 to 70 years." Skyland Grain offers a special program for white wheat growers, and white wheat has really been the highlight of this year's harvest, Overturf said. "We've seen some excellent qualities and test weights," he said. "We've seen a lot of 62- to 64-pound white wheat." He attributed the improvement to farmers in the area choosing better varieties. Overturf estimated the total crop of white wheat brought into Skyland Elevators at 800,000 to one million bushels for this year's harvest.
Doug Rich can be reached by phone at 785-749-5304, or by e-mail at richhpj@aol.com. Jennifer M. Latzke can be reached by phone at 620-227-1807, or by e-mail at jlatzke@hpj.com. 6/30/08 Date: 6/26/08
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