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This is Day 20 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Wheat harvest progress was slowed by widespread rain showers throughout north central and northwest Kansas the last week. In its weekly Crop Progress Report, Kansas Ag Statistics says about 93% of the 2011 crop has been cut, ahead of the five-year average of 91%.

While good for the fall crops, farmers are concerned that the rain showers are causing test weights to decline and standing wheat to lay down. Dale Weeks, manager of the Wheeler Coop Mercantile Equity in Wheeler, says farmers have only delivered about 420,000 bushels so far, due to the frequent showers. Weeks says about 80% of the harvest remains in that part of Cheyenne County. Yield so far has ranged from 29 to 80 bushels per acre, with an average of about 50 bushels per acre. Test weight was about 62 pounds on average when harvest started, but loads brought in on July 10 had dropped to 59 pounds. Protein levels are about 11. Weeks says farmers are only getting about four hours of cutting in per day; so far in July, the area has received five inches of precipitation.

Brian Linin, Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Goodland, says farmers were able to make good harvest progress over the weekend, but more than 1.05-inches of rain fell Sunday night to bring the harvest to a halt. On wheat cut so far, protein ranges from 11.5 to 12; test weight averages about 60.5 pounds per bushel and yields range from 20 to 80 bushels per acre, depending upon a farmer’s cropping system. Summer-fallowed wheat is performing better than wheat planted into corn stubble, says Linin, who adds that a hot spell coming to the area the end of the week should make for quick work of the remaining wheat acres.

Near Sharon Springs, David Schemm, president of the Kansas Assn. of Wheat Growers, has just 75 acres of wheat that must ripen before he can cut it. Schemm says his crop averaged about 33 bushels per acre, with yields ranging from 15 to 42 bushels per acre. Test weight averaged 60 pounds per bushel and protein was about 12. The variety Tam 111 was consistently good, according to Schemm. On the whole, the 2011 harvest will be remembered for being surprisingly good, given the area’s droughty conditions.

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This is Day 19 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

A weekend thunderstorm that swept through northern Kansas temporarily postponed the 2011 Kansas wheat harvest, allowing farm families to enjoy at least a portion of the Independence Day Holiday. According to Kansas Agricultural Statistics, farmers had harvested about 85% of the state’s wheat crop as of Sunday evening; many farmers resumed harvest on the Fourth of July. 

Eric Sperber, manager of Cornerstone Ag in Colby, says harvest is about 50% complete in Thomas County, with about 1 million bushels taken in so far. Sperber says yields range from about 40 to 70 bushels per acre in dryland fields, although some of the poorer dryland wheat is yet to be harvested. Protein ranges from 8 to 19, with a 11.9 average; test weight ranges from 52 to 65, with a 61 pound per bushel average. Sperber, who serves on the KAWG board of directors, says farmers are pleasantly surprised at early yield results, but that overall, it will be an average harvest for the elevator as wheat acreage has declined a bit from last year.

A rainstorm that dropped two-and-a-half inches of rain on Roger May’s farm near Oberlin Saturday stopped harvest after just one day. May says the storm also brought 88 mile-per-hour winds, but his wheat weathered the storm just fine. He hoped to resume harvest on Tuesday. Early on, yields ranged from 50 to 60 bushels per acre in summer-fallow wheat; less than that in continuous wheat or wheat planted behind corn last fall. May says prior to the rain, 60 to 63 pound test weights were the norm.

Logan Grain LLC in Logan has taken in 91,000 bushels of wheat since harvest began a little over a week ago according to elevator superintendant, Vernie Morris. Test weights have been averaging 62 pounds per bushel and yields range from 25 to 40 bushels per acre. Morris says in another week, harvest will be nearly complete in Phillips County.

Jay Armstrong, Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Muscotah, says harvest in northeast Kansas wrapped up late last month. Armstrong says yields were disappointing, given nearly optimum spring weather for wheat. A cold snap in April may have knocked the top off of yields, he says. Armstrong says the variety Everest averaged 47 bushels per acre, with 61 pound test weight and protein averaging 12.8. Wheat acreage in northeast Kansas rebounded a bit last fall due to high futures prices during planting time and early harvest for fall crops.

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This is Day 18 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

According to the monthly Crop Report from Kansas Agriculture Statistics released Thursday, Kansas farmers will harvest 7.8 million acres of wheat this year. With temperatures reaching 100 degrees for the second straight day, harvest is moving quickly through northern Kansas.

In more than three decades of farming, 2011 is the toughest year that KAWG Director Richard Kvasnicka, has ever seen. His area of Logan County has been stricken by drought, with some areas receiving less than two inches of rainfall so far this year. Kvasnicka has been harvesting wheat for three days; early on, the yield is better than what he expected, topping 30 bushels per acre. However, Kvasnicka says that later-planted wheat is yielding poorly, from 15 to 25 bushels per acre. Elevators in the area report test weights are good; 61 pounds per bushel for red wheat and 63 pounds per bushel for white wheat. Protein averages about 13.

Larry Glenn, broker at Frontier Ag in Quinter, says half the area’s wheat crop has been harvested in the last week, thanks to hot and dry harvesting conditions. Test weights average 62 pounds per bushel and protein averages 12.5. Glenn says yields are more variable this year than normal because of the difference in planting dates. Fields planted early are yielding around 40 to 45 bushels per acre, while fields planted later and immediate following a fall crop such as corn are yielding just 15 to 20 bushels per acre. Glenn says farmers in Gove County should be finished with harvest in another 10 days.

Michael Jordan, KAWG director from the Beloit area, says harvest is about 90% done in Mitchell County. Some fields were slow to ripen due to later emergence last fall and this spring - a problem that gets worse as harvest moves north. Those same fields are lower in test weight and show signs of shriveled, non-ripe kernels. In Mitchell County, the yield ranges from 30 to 70 bushels per acre, with a 45 to 55 bushel per acre average.

Harvest kicked into high gear in Smith County this week, according to Kandis Attwood at the Central Plains Co-op in Smith Center. Protein of the crop appears to be better than last year, although yields are not. Test weight is 57-59 pounds per bushel and yields are still too early to project. Harvest in the area is about 25% complete.

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This is Day 17 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Wednesday’s hot weather helped Kansas wheat farmers expedite wheat harvest, with machines running all over the state. However, some farmers are facing an unusual situation with green plants slowing their harvest progress.

The temperature topped 103 degrees near Sharon Springs, as David Schemm was searching for fields ready to cut. Wheat that did not begin to grow until this spring is keeping moisture of the crop relatively high, although high temperatures the next few days should dry down those fields. Schemm, who is president of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, says yields in Wallace County average about 30 bushels per acre, with ranges from the low teens to over 40 bushels per acre. In Greeley County, just south of Wallace County, yields range from 10 to 20 bushels per acre. Schemm says protein values routinely exceed 15. The Wallace County wheat has been partially battered by hail, he adds.

Kansas Wheat Commissioner Mike McClellan, Palco, says summerfallow fields in Rooks County are yielding between 45 and 55 bushels per acre, but wheat planted after soybeans or corn are faring much worse, ranging from 15 to 30 bushels per acre. McClellan says Smoky Hill and PostRock appear to be the best varieties, but that appears to be based on what the wheat was planted into last fall, rather than variety . Earlier in harvest, test weights averaged over 60 pounds per bushel; they’ve since dropped to 58 pounds per bushel. McClellan says the area is about 70% finished.

In the AgMark, LLC trade area of north central Kansas, the 2011 harvest continues to trudge on. Wheat ripened up early in Lincoln and Mitchell counties, where farmers are mostly finished with a very good harvest, but in Jewell, western Mitchell and Cloud counties, wheat fields are slower to ripen. Jeff Bechard, manager of AgMark, says yields throughout AgMark’s three member cooperatives ranges from 15 to 70 bushels per acre, with yields averaging about 40 bushels per acre. Test weight averaged over 60 pounds early on, but recently has slumped to about 59 pounds per bushel. Protein values are over 13. Bechard says farmers will cut 85% of AgMark’s five-year average harvest.

Larry Preuss, manager of Beattie Farmers Union Coop Assn. in Beattie says because of rains that sprinkled the area during the weekend, Wednesday was the first full day of cutting in eastern Marshall County. Test weights average 58 pounds early on and protein looks good. Harvest is expected to last another week if conditions stay dry.

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This is Day 16 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Rain and humidity over the weekend continues to slow harvest progress in north central Kansas; meanwhile, the 2011 wheat harvest in west central Kansas is beginning to wind down.

In Scott County, nearly all the dryland wheat is cut, according to Kansas Wheat Commissioner Rich Randall. In general, the wheat northwest of Scott City has been good due to timely rains; south of town, yields have been disappointing due to drought and hail. Crop quality has been very good, with test weights averaging over 60 pounds per bushel and yields ranging from 30 bushels per acre on up to 60 bushels per acre. Randall says the varieties Jagalene and T158 are the region’s top performers.

Frontier Ag Inc. in WaKeeney has taken in 500,000 bushels of wheat since harvest began a little over a week ago according to manager, Tim Miller. Test weights have been averaging 62 pounds per bushel and protein about 12.4. Yields range from 15 to 60 and average 37 bushels per acre. Miller says in another three days harvest will be 80% complete in Trego County.

Harvest is about 50% complete in Clay County, according to Tom Stewart, manager of the Farmway Co-op location there. Stewart says that despite high temperatures during the grainfill period, the area has high-quality wheat, averaging over 60 pounds per bushel test weight and protein values about 12. Yields commonly range from 30 to 50 bushels per acre, with an average of about 40 bushels per acre. Stewart says that Clay County farmers will harvest an average crop overall.

Randy Hiltgen, manager of United Farmers Co-op in Washington, says 20,000 bushels of wheat have been taken in so far. Harvest progress in Washington County has been slow due to rains that passed through the area this past weekend. Test weights are averaging 58 pounds per bushel with yields ranging from 20 to 60 bushels per acre. Hiltgen says if rain showers stay away, harvest could finish in about 10 days.

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This is Day 15 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Kansas wheat farmers made considerable harvest progress last week and have reaped 55% of the state’s wheat acres as of Sunday, according to the weekly Crop Progress Report from the Kansas Ag Statistics. That’s ahead of the five-year average of 44%.

Harvest has reached Wallace County in western Kansas, where KAWG President David Schemm reports that custom harvest crews are setting up headquarters in Sharon Springs and combines are moving everywhere. Schemm began cutting a field of Tam 111 wheat Monday and reports below-average test weight of 58.5 pounds per bushel and moisture of 12.5%. However, Schemm says protein value is 15.4 and the field yielded just over 33 bushels per acre, surprising given drought conditions throughout west central Kansas. Schemm says 20 years ago, a year like this one would have cut yields to 10 or 15 bushels per acre; but given better genetics and farming practices, better yields in unfavorable weather conditions is possible.

In Smith County, harvest has begun, but farmers have already cut out most of the drier fields and are waiting patiently for hotter weather to dry out the rest of the crop. Early on, quality is below average, with 57 pound test weights, according to Candace Atwood, with Central Plains Coop in Smith Center.

Bob Johnson, general manager of the Cloud County Cooperative Elevator Association in Concordia, says 40% of the area’s wheat crop has been taken in so far. The 750,000 bushels of wheat coming through the elevator in the past week is better than farmers expected, with test weights averaging 60.5 pounds per bushel and protein about 12.8. Yields range from 35 to 60 and average 45 bushels per acre. Scattered showers have slowed harvest progress the last couple of days in Cloud County, but Johnson says if good weather continues for another week, harvest will be completed by the Fourth of July.

Phil Theel at Farmers Coop Association in Manhattan says farmers are about 75% finished with harvest in Pottawatomie County. Fewer wheat acres in the region than past years means the elevator will have a below-average crop; however, quality of the 2011 crop is much better than last year’s. Test weight averages 61 pounds per bushel, and moisture is 12.5. Theel says the average yield is about 40 bushels per acre.

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This is Day 14 of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Hot and windy make for a nice combination for farmers working to bring in the 2011 wheat crop.

Harvest is getting started in southwest Lane, northeast Finney and eastern Scott counties, according to Ron Suppes, Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Dighton. Wheat that was summer fallowed appears to be the best, ranging from 30 to 60 bushels per acre.Some fields are uneven as far as ripeness and may vary from 10% moisture to 18% throughout the field. Some fields are developing weed problems, specifically kochia. Suppes says most continuous wheat, whether planted behind corn or into wheat stubble will not be cut in Lane County or in southeast Scott County.Suppes says that his fields in Finney County, summerfallow wheat is 11.5% moisture and yielding 24 bushels per acre after a hailstorm a week ago reduced yields about 50%.

Bill Burton, grain merchandiser at Midland Marketing in Hays says in Ellis County, harvest should wind down by mid-week but the company’s northern locations in Palco and Natoma will see several more days of harvest activity. The crop quality has been excellent, with test weights over 60 pounds per bushel and protein about 12.5. Yields are variable, ranging from 15 to 60 bushels per acre, averaging about 35 bushels per acre throughout the company’s 11 locations. Burton says the 2011 crop will total about 75% of last year’s total production.

KAWG officer Michael Jordan began harvest Wednesday south of Beloit and harvest has been in full blast since. Jordan says Mitchell County farmers are finding average yields of more than 50 bushels per acre on average, with protein values of 13.5 and test weights of 63 pounds per bushel. Jordan notes that the varieties Everest and Armour are performing very well. While the area harvest is more than half finished, Jordan reckons he’ll finish the end of the week.

Sarah Heidel with Geary Grain in Junction City says harvest has been ramping up since farmers first began bringing wheat in on Wednesday. Test weights have fallen from over 60 pounds per bushel to 58 pounds, due to late week rain showers. Heidel says there have been no early yield or protein reports yet.

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Kansas Wheat Commissioner Rich Randall began cutting Wednesday near Scott City. It is early, but Randall says his crop is doing well, with 40-50 bushel per acre yields on dryland, with test weights averaging about 61 pounds per bushels. Randall says the variety T158 is doing well early on.

Near Green, Braden Schaefer has cut 100 acres in Clay County, where yield is pushing 50 bushels per acre. Test weight averages 61.5 pounds per bushel. Schaefer’s harvest is about 20% complete.

Dan Carter, grain buyer at DE Bondurant Grain in Ness City, says Ness County farmers are having a tough year. The harvest has been slow to progress; Thursday was the first day that widespread cutting took place. He says test weights average about 59 pounds per bushel, and yields range between 15 and 22 bushels per acre. Carter expects that over the weekend harvest progress will be rolling.

Gaylene Friesen, grain buyer at Pride Ag Resources in Dodge City, says 3 million bushels have been taken in throughout the company’s 14 southwest Kansas locations. Region-wide, yield ranges from 20 to 40 bushels per acre, and test weight has averaged 61 pounds. Farmers in the area surrounding Kingsdown in southeast Ford County have had the best yields in the company’s trade area.

Tom Murphy with Bartlett Co-op in Oswego says harvest is all but finished. Throughout the company’s five locations, more than 1 million bushels of wheat have been taken in, well above the norm of 750,000 bushels. Yields ranged from 10 to 85 bushels per acre, and averaged about 45. The crop’s quality has been excellent for southeast Kansas; test weights average 60 pounds per bushel and protein is 11. Murphy says it has been at least five years since Labette County farmers have had this good of a harvest.

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A near picture-perfect day for cutting wheat blanketed Kansas on Wednesday, prompting farmers from throughout Kansas to fire up their combines for an ambitious day of activity.

Harvest has moved as far north as Randall in Jewell County, says Mark Hafliger, commodity origination manager at AgMark, LLC in Beloit. Yield in the AgMark trade area is better than anticipated, averaging about 45 bushels per acre. Company-wide, test weight averages 60 pounds per bushel and protein ranges from 10 to 14. Harvest is less than 10% complete across the area.

KAWG Director Justin Knopf, Salina, began harvest last week in Dickinson and Saline counties; wheat quality was excellent with test weights averaging about 64; rain showers since have dropped those weights to about 61 pounds. Yields range from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Knopf’s fields are yielding better than he anticipated; however, some neighboring farmers suffered near-complete losses on their fields that were damaged by hail. Knopf, who is about half finished with the 2011 harvest, says overall it is average, but much better than he anticipated.

Bryan Yohe, manager of the Cooperative Grain and Supply in Bazine, says farmers are having a poor harvest, due to drought that has covered Ness and surrounding counties. Farmers began cutting on Monday; test weights range from 59 to 61 pounds per bushel. Crop quality is poor and Yohe expects this will be one of the worst harvests in recent memory.

Harvest progress has moved as far north as Lucas in Russell County, according to Dan Bernard, general manager of Agco, Inc. in Russell. Farmers in the area began cutting Monday and early on, test weight is about 61 pounds per bushel and protein ranges from 12.2 to 13.5.Bernard expects the cooperative to take in fewer bushels than past years; not only are yields down to about 40 bushels per acre from a 45-bushel per acre historical average, but Russell County farmers planted just 70,000 acres of wheat last fall, down from a peak of about 100,000 acres a decade ago.

NAWG Secretary/Treasurer Paul Penner, Hillsboro, says harvest resumed Tuesday. In northern Marion County, yields are better than expected, ranging from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. After a couple of rain showers in the past week have dropped test weights from 60-plus pounds per bushel on average to about 58 pounds and protein is about 12. Penner says the variety 2137 is performing very well. The harvest is about two-thirds complete in Marion County, he says.

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After getting off to a quick start, just about 27% of the 2011 wheat crop has been harvested in the state, according to the weekly Crop Progress Report from Kansas Agricultural Statistics. Harvest progress is moving slowly northward.

Near Herington, Tom Remy, manager of the Agri Producers location there, says just a handful of producers had begun by Monday, but by the end of the day it was progressing nicely. The crop has averaged about 40 bushels per acre, with test weights averaging between 58 and 63 bushels per acre. Remy expects harvest to last through the first of July.

Meanwhile, Georgia Lytle at Midland Marketing in McCracken says farmers started cutting last week, but were slowed by weekend rains. Yields have been poor in Rush County due to drought and heat; farmers are expecting an average of about 20 bushels per acre. Test weights average 61 pounds per bushel, but no protein reports have been received. Lytle says some hail damage occurred east of McCracken, slashing yield potential in eastern Rush County.

Two hailstorms racing through Kearny County in the past week wiped out more than six quarter sections of wheat farmed by KAWG vice president Gary Millershaski. Before the storms, he was able to cut a few fields of certified seed, and reports yields of 25 to 28 bushels per acre from the varieties T 151 and Jagger, despite those fields receiving less than four inches of moisture in 2011. Millershaski says that between drought and hail, management at the United Prairie Ag grain elevator locations in Lakin and Lydia will take in less than 300,000 bushels - just one-fourth of last year’s 1.2 million bushel harvest. Millershaski has abandoned much of his wheat crop and expects an average yield of 15 bushels per acre on all his remaining acres.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain and the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.

Many Kansas farmers spent Father’s Day in wheat fields or grain elevators throughout the state, bringing in the 2011 crop.

Mike Schmidt, location manager at Skyland Grain’s Johnson location says harvest began a week ago, and yields are all over the board, from 1 bushel per acre to 40 bushels per acre in dryland fields. Test weights average 60 pounds per bushel while protein levels average 13. Between Johnson, Big Bow and Manter, Skyland has taken in about 50% Hard Red and 50% Hard White wheat. Schmidt says it’s been too dry throughout Skyland’s eight locations to make an educated decision on which class of wheat has performed better. He expects that by the time harvest is wrapped up by July 1, the company will have taken in about half an average crop.

In northern Scott County, Kansas Wheat Commissioner Rich Randall has not yet started to cut wheat. He says between Scott City and Garden City, test cutting has begun with reports of 12% moisture and yields near 40 bushels per acre; however, a Saturday night shower dumped 0.30 inches of rain on his farm, and hail in areas of northern Scott County. Harvest should begin in the Scott City area by Tuesday.

Dave Radenberg, Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Claflin, says Kansas Highway 4 is the dividing line between good wheat and poor wheat. South of Hwy. 4, yields were poor; north of the Highway, wheat yields are about 35 bushels per acre. Radenberg has been harvesting for three days and is about half finished; he says test weight averages about 59 pounds per bushel with moisture about 11%.

In southeast Kansas, Jim Michael woke up to a thunderstorm that dumped four-inches of rain and hail on his wheat crop near McCune; he had harvested about 40% of his acreage to that point. Yields up to that point had ranged from 30 to 60 bushels per acre in Hard Winter wheat; 50 to 90 bushels per acre in Soft Winter wheat with test weights above 60 pounds per bushel. Michael says the hail did not break the wheat plants over, but the damage to the crop will be severe. The varieties Armour and Everest have stood out for farmers in the region; Fuller has been disappointing.

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This is Day Eight of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

An early morning thunderstorm Thursday kept many central and eastern Kansas farmers out of the harvest fields for the day. However, in what has become an all-too-often scene, most western Kansas producers missed the sporadic showers that raced through that portion of the state.

Severe drought and a late-season hail storm wreaked havoc on the wheat crop in Grant County, according to Justin Lueck, grain originator for United Prairie Ag, LLC in Ulysses. Lueck expects that throughout the company’s nine locations, just 20% of a normal wheat harvest will be taken in. Harvest in Grant County has just started; yields so far range from 5 to 25 bushels per acre, with test weights averaging about 60 pounds per bushel and protein, 13 to 16. By the weekend, Lueck says harvest will progress well north of Ulysses.

Hillsboro farmer Paul Penner received one-half-inch of rain Thursday morning, but was pleased with the results from his test cutting the day before. After cutting a little over 100 acres Wednesday, Penner found yields as high as 50 bushels per acre in one field and test weights were averaging 63 pounds per bushel. Moisture dropped significantly from 15 at the beginning of the day to 10.4 by the time they wrapped up cutting that night. Penner says another week of hot and dry weather like that will put him in a good place to finish harvest sooner than he expected.

Harvest has moved as far north as Ada in Ottawa County, according to Seth Post, location manager for the Scoular Corporation’s Minneapolis location. Farmers brought in 10,000 bushels of wheat Wednesday; a rain shower Thursday morning stopped harvest for the day. Post says test weights range from 60-64 bushels per acre; protein is variable from 10.9 to 14.5 and yields are trending higher than anticipated, with an average of around 45 bushels per acre.

Meanwhile, Kansas Wheat Commissioner Scott Van Allen finished the 2011 wheat harvest Wednesday. He says yields in Sumner County have been better than most farmers expected. His crop averaged 35 bushels per acre, with a 22 to 51 bushel per acre range. Art and Fuller were the top performing varieties

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This is Day Six of the 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Cloudy and cooler than normal conditions throughout central Kansas limited harvest progress on Tuesday.

At the Farmers Coop Equity Exchange in Sawyer, Rex Robinson says harvest is about 60% complete, with 375,000 bushels taken in so far and a week of harvest action remaining. Robinson says test weights average 62.5 pounds per bushel and yields range from 20 to 50 bushels per acre, depending on when it was planted and if it was grazed. Clearfield varieties have performed very well by topping 50 bushels per acre.

Heading into his third day of harvest, Randy Fritzemeier of Stafford, KS was back in the fields today after rains halted his progress over the weekend. Fritzemeier has harvested 300 acres, or about one-third of his wheat crop so far. Yields have been better than he expected, averaging in the mid-30’s, while test weights have remained between 62 and 64 pounds per bushel.

A cool, foggy day slowed harvest progress in Rice County, where Richard Fisher, manager of the Farmers Coop Union in Sterling, says just 40,000 bushels have been taken in throughout 11 locations. Test weight has averaged above 60 pounds per bushel, although kernel size appears to be a bit smaller than normal. Fisher says it is too early for yield estimates, but he predicts that overall, farmers will harvest about two-thirds of a normal crop - exceeding expectations.

Marvin Lynch, manager of the Piqua Farmers Co-op in Woodston County, says one load of wheat has been harvested, but many test samples have been brought in. Test weight of the wheat in the area is 60 to 61 pounds per bushel, and farmers are expecting yields of about 45 bushels per acre. We’re a few days from getting into full swing, but Lynch predicts it will be an above average harvest. When Lynch began working at the Co-op 40 years ago, farmers planted about 35% of their acreage to wheat; now, it is less than 15%.

As of Sunday evening, 11% of the Kansas wheat crop has been harvested, according to the weekly Crop Progress Report from Kansas Agricultural Statistics. Harvest progress in southern Kansas was slowed due to a thunderstorm that dropped 1.32 inches of rain in Liberal and more than 3 inches in Sedgwick County.

That thunderstorm also produced hail in Stevens County, effectively wiping out much of harvest before it got started. Jason Edwards, manager of the United Prairie Ag facility in Hugoton says drought had already wreaked havoc with the area’s wheat crop; the hailstorm Saturday finished off the remaining wheat fields. Edwards says if the elevator receives 10% of its normal wheat production, he would be surprised.

On a brighter note, Steve Morris, grain manager of the Andale Farmers Co-op in Andale, says harvest has been underway for a week in Sedgwick County. As of Sunday, that location had taken in 605,000 bushels. Test weights average 62 pounds per bushel, with a 15 to 70 bushel range. Protein averages 13.5, with values as high as 18. Morris says farmers have a week of harvest remaining.

Test cutting in Crawford County has just started, according to Jim Michael, director of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers from McCune. Moisture is in the 15% range for the most part, although Michael says one completed field in the area generated 50 bushels to the acre. The area received an inch of rain over the weekend, but Michael reckons harvest will be in full force by mid-week.

Test cutting also has pushed north of I-70, according to John Woodworth, grain merchandiser at Team Marketing Alliance of Moundridge. The company’s locations in Bennington and Talmage each took in 1,700 bushels over the weekend; farmers are also beginning to harvest at other TMA locations near Hutchinson and Canton. The bulk of harvest action is occurring in McPherson county, where Mid-Kansas Coop has taken in 500,000 bushels at its Moundridge location and 132,000 bushels at its Groveland location. Throughout TMA’s 49 locations, test weight averages 62 pounds; protein values have been high and yields vary from 15 to 45 bushels per acre. Rain events Thursday and Saturday slowed harvest, but farmers are beginning to return to the harvest fields Monday, Woodworth says.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade and DeBruce Grain.

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasted the 2011 Kansas wheat crop at 261.8 million bushels, unchanged from the May forecast and if realized, would be the smallest Kansas crop since 1996, when farmers grew 255.2 million bushels.

Yet, yields have been surprisingly good near Caldwell, where Karla Ward, office manager of the Farmers Coop Grain Company says farmers have reported yields as high as 50 bushels per acre, although average yield is 35 and test weight, 62 pounds. The elevator has taken in 550,000 bushels overall with about 60% of harvest complete; that’s about 30% less than last year. An inch of rain fell about 10 miles north of town the night of June 8, but Caldwell received just a sprinkle.

Benny Roths at Two Rivers Co-op in Arkansas City, says farmers in southern Cowley County should finish harvest the first of next week. The location has taken in 50,000 bushels so far and is on pace to receive about half a normal crop. Yields range from 4 to 50 bushels per acre, with a 30 bushel per acre average. Test weight varies from 60 to 64 pounds per bushel and protein ranges from 11.5 to 14. Roths says the variety Fuller has done well this year.

Harvest is just beginning in southeast Ford County, where Bonnie McCarty at the Offerle Coop Grain and Supply in Bucklin says 20,000 bushels have been taken in so far. Test weights are above 60 pounds per bushel on average, but the only confirmed yield report so far is 15 bushels per acre.

Jerry Hayworth, manager of the Anthony Farmers Coop branch in Attica, says two-tenths of an inch of rain that fell Wednesday night combined with humid conditions Thursday to temporarily pre-empt harvest. Yields range from 8 to 34 bushels per acre and test weight averages 63 pounds per bushel. The coop has taken in about 300,000 bushels with harvest about half complete; Hayworth says the harvest has been disappointing.

Near Haven, Brandon Harder began cutting in earnest yesterday. Yields have been better than expected, ranging from 40 to 45 bushels per acre. Test weights are as high as 64 pounds per bushel, although kernel size appears to be smaller than normal. Harder expects yields to get even better as they move to better farmground.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade and DeBruce Grain.

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While farmers in south central Kansas are beginning to see the end of the 2011 wheat harvest, those in central Kansas are just getting started.

Larry Reynolds, manager of the Farmers Coop Grain Association in South Haven, says about 70% of the crop is finished and farmers are enjoying better than expected production. Yields range from 17 to 32 bushels per acre and average 28 bushels; test weight averages 61 pounds and protein is 13. Reynolds anticipates farmers will be finishing over the weekend.

Meanwhile, John Woodworth, grain merchandiser for Team Marketing Alliance, says farmers are test cutting as far north as Canton and Galva in central Kansas, but the wheat remains too wet. Among TMA’s 49 locations in south central Kansas, very few are seeing steady harvest action, although Woodworth says yields from 30 to 40 bushels per acre have been reported thus far. Early on, protein and test weights are excellent. By this weekend, harvest should be in full force throughout much of the TMA trade region, which spans from Benton north to Longford and Burns west to Nickerson.

Heading into his fourth day of harvest, Sedgwick farmer Ryan Speer says results are about what he expected. Yields average 27 bushels per acre, test weight is about 62 pounds per bushel and a field containing the variety Shocker featured protein values ranging from 16 to 19. Speer says this is the third year in a row that harvest has been poor, but given the drought in south central Kansas, he feels fortunate that the wheat is yielding well as it is. Irrigated wheat fields should fare much better.

In Kiowa County, farmers are pleased with harvest early on. Pete Zook at the Farmers Coop Company in Haviland says trucks began rolling in Monday, with yields ranging from 32 to 40 bushels per acre, 60 pound test weight and protein values ranging from 11.2 to 15.6. Zook says harvest has been slow to get started, as custom cutters have yet to reach the area. At the Haviland location, Zook says about 60% of a normal crop is expected; company-wide, about half a normal crop will be taken in.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade and DeBruce Grain.

There is still a lot of green wheat near Cunningham, which has prompted Aaron Murphy, general manager of the Cairo Coop Equity Exchange at Cunningham, to encourage farmers to go fishing for a few days while the wheat crop finishes ripening. If the weather stays hot and dry harvest should be in full force by the end of the week; limited action thus far shows test weights averaging 61.5 pounds per bushel and yields ranging from 20- to 30 bushels per acre.

At the Two Rivers Coop in Udall, Danny Coble says harvest is not yet in full swing, with just about 25,000 bushels taken in so far this week. Early test weights have ranged from 62 to 65 pounds per bushel, and yields from 25 to 32 bushels per acre. Coble expects that by Friday, harvest action will be widespread.

It’s a miserable harvest near Sitka, where Chris Jellison with the Farmers Coop Company says yields range from 6 to 25 bushels per acre. Quality is the bright spot in this year’s crop. Although protein values have not been received yet, test weight has averaged 62 pounds per bushel.

Early into the 2011 harvest, Kingman farmer Mike Maloney says it is amazing how the crop has hung in, given it has suffered from dramatic drought since the first of the year. Harvesting wheat grown on sandy soils, Maloney has had yields ranging from 10 to 35 bushels per acre with protein averaging 13, with his best wheat yet to come. Maloney says harvest progress is excellent, with no mud and low humidity, allowing farmers to start combining early and running late in the day.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade and DeBruce Grain.

Click Here for an audio version.

Farmers throughout south central Kansas have begun one of the earliest wheat harvests in recent memory, with 11% of the crop already matured, according to the Weekly Crop Progress Report from Kansas Agricultural Statistics.

The 2011 Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports begin at the OK Coop in Kiowa, where assistant manager Dennis Carroll says more than 350,000 bushels have been taken in as of Monday afternoon in what appears to be a better-than-expected harvest.

Yields in Barber County range from nearly 0 to 60 bushels per acre, with a 37 bushel per acre average. Quality is excellent, with 62 pound test weight on average and a protein value of 13. Carroll says with harvest about a third complete, custom harvesters are rolling into Kiowa and that the harvest pace should pick up considerably.

Near Clearwater, Kansas Wheat Commissioner Scott Van Allen says the harvest is below-average overall, but given the extremely dry conditions that persisted throughout the region last fall and this spring, his 35 bushel per acre average is a pleasant surprise. The best field is the variety Art, which produced 38 bushels per acre. On about 500 acres harvested so far, test weights average about 62 pounds per bushel.

In Englewood, Meade Coop Elevator and Supply general manager Kelly McKinney says farmers began harvest on Monday. Yields range from 8 to 25 bushels per acre and test weights are greater than 61 pounds per bushel on average. Dry conditions mean this year’s harvest pace should be much quicker than past years.

Doris Lawrence, grain merchandiser at the Farmers Coop Grain Association of Wellington says the five locations have taken in 325,000 bushels so far. Yields range from 15 to 40 bushels per acre, protein ranges from 11.9 to 16 with a 13.5 average and test weights average 60 pounds per bushel. Lawrence expects the 2011 harvest will yield about 60% of a normal Sumner County wheat harvest.

And between Arkansas City and Winfield in the community of Hackney, Jim Mitchell of Valley Coop says about 50,000 bushels had been received by Monday afternoon. Stands are thin throughout central Cowley County, but crop quality is very good, with test weights ranging from 61 to 63.5 pounds per bushel and protein in the 13s. Yields range from 10 to 45 bushels per acre.

The 2011 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade and DeBruce Grain.