Agricultural News
Mark Hodges of Plains Grain Finds Decent Production, But Quality Challenges in 2015 Wheat Crop
Thu, 11 Jun 2015 18:18:57 CDT
Wheat harvest is going on from Corpus Christi, Texas to Wichita, Kansas. As harvesters deliver this crop to elevators, yields and quality have been all over the board. Plains Grain evaluates each of the grain sheds in the hard red winter wheat belt and provides that information about the quality of the crop to millers, bakers and export buyers. While the large multinational companies do similar testing, Plains Grains Executive Director Mark Hodges said this is an important service to mid-size mills and overseas customers that don't have access to that information. He said this helps end users know where they can access the quality of wheat they need to produce their products.
While the wheat crop was planted in favorable conditions last fall, a lot changed since April. Hodges said it came out of the winter in good condition, then in May it started to rain. He said that was the absolute worst thing for this crop, besides hail.
"It effected the test weight and at the same time we had a major stripe infection happen over that period of time as well," Hodges said. "And there really is a marked difference between those guys that used fungicide and the guys that did not use fungicide and it made three to four pounds of test weight difference between those that didn't and those that did, so it did make a major difference."
Oklahoma typically produces test weights averaging between 60 to 63 pounds. Hodges said in recent years the state has averaged above 60 pounds, but this year the crop test weight is averaging between 57 to 59 pounds. With lower test weights, farmers will be discounted, thus lowering their financial return on what could be have a decent crop. With rain being predicted for this weekend into next week for Oklahoma as well as Kansas, Hodges said this has the potential to further lower test weights. This points to the fact that it is important the testing takes place to understand the quality of the crop.
On a positive note, sprout damage has been limited. Hodges said that's surprising because of the amount of rain the state received in the month of May. Overall, he has found yields have been holding steady. While they are not outstanding, they are much better than last year. Hodges said most reports are coming in at 20 to 50 bushels per acre with an average of about 30 to 40 bushels.
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Hodges about the 2015 wheat crop. Click or tap on the LISTENBAR below to listen to the full interview.
Hodges will be joining Hays for the weekly "In the Field" report on KWTV News 9 in the Oklahoma City market on Saturday morning at 6:40 a.m.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
