Agricultural News
Wheat Quality Council Wheat Tour in Kansas Sees Much Better Wheat Than a Year Ago - 47 Bushel Wheat Average for Day Two
Thu, 02 May 2019 05:34:57 CDT
Day two of the Wheat Quality Council's 2019 winter wheat tour in 20 cars made their way from Colby to Wichita, Kansas, stopping in wheat fields along six different routes. One route included time in northern Oklahoma, as well.
The report session at the end of the day concluded that while there are concerns about many fields being well behind normal development because they were planted late- the crop could yield 47.6 bushels per acre based on the 200 stops along the way Wednesday. That is well above the 35.2 bushels per acre found along similar routes a year ago- and the five year average for day 2 of 39.3 bushels per acre.
Scouts reported seeing widely varying wheat conditions (due, in large part, to planting date) along the route. While there were sightings of rust and other disease in south central Kansas, many stops saw signs of nitrogen deficiency, a common nutrient deficiency that could be remedied by fertilizer applications. However, many producers are choosing not to apply fertilizers due to decreasing wheat prices and increased input costs. This year the yield bump with fertilizer application may end up costing producers more than they would gain.
The next few weeks will be critical for the crop. Dr. Romulo Lollato, Kansas State University wheat extension specialist, reported seeing signs of leaf rust in the lower canopy in Ford and Edwards counties, but saw both nitrogen and sulfur deficiencies consistently along the Highway 50 route. One tweet from Hodgeman County showed a substantial difference in growth and development in neighboring fields. Non-typical planting dates have been at the forefront of conversation for Wheat Tour 19 with the visible variability in field development evident even to the untrained eye. Tour participants now have a hands on experience showcasing the volatility of Mother Nature and the impact it has on our nation's wheat farmers.
Chris Kirby with the Oklahoma Wheat Commission traveled on the route that started in Colby and went due south into Oklahoma and then eastward to Medford before heading back into Kansas to arrive in Wichita last night. Chris writes "2 day total - 440 stops - avg yield 48.2 bu/acre compared to last years 601 stops and 36.8 avg bu/acre. It was a larger group of people last year thus increasing number of stops.
"Left Colby early this morning in dense fog which lasted about 2 hours. Scouts reported moisture from dry top soil to wet and little to no disease so far. The yellow route went into the panhandle of Oklahoma in Turpin and headed east seeing the majority of the wheat being grazed out until we got to the Alva area and continued east. Very wet fields with varying yields was seen. All 3 cars of the yellow route which consisted of people from all areas of the wheat industry stopped at Oklahoma Wheat Commission Commissioner Kenneth Failes Farm and learned a lot about the wheat variety trials.
"In Medford we headed north into south central Kansas and saw a wide variety of fields conditions from good to fair with the fair due to excessive moisture that delayed planting in the fall as well as fertilization and weed control during the growing season."
At the Wichitra meeting, Mark Hodges with Plains Grains reported that the Oklahoma production is estimated at 119.27 million bushels with 37.38 bushels per acre. Approximately 4.2 million acres were seeded last fall- and the estimate developed at the Tuesday Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association Meeting was based on an anticipated 3.1 million harvested acres. That number could go lower, according to Hodges, because of low wheat prices and the relative value of the forage to farmers versus grain.
The Wheat Crop Tour finishes today- as scouts will leave Wichita and head back to Manhatten, where a final estimate on the size of the Kansas Crop will be made Thursday afternoon.
The picture above is from Day 2 of the Tour- a field in Pratt County that was projected by the scouts as having 56 bushel per acre potential.
Sources- Kansas Wheat and Oklahoma Wheat Commission
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