Darin Marti, general manager of the Farmers Co-op Association in Manhattan, says that three days into the 2013 harvest he expects the elevator to take in its largest wheat crop in 10 years. Around Manhattan, test weights average 60 pounds per bushel and farmers have yields ranging from 40 to 80 bushels per acre, with a 60 bushel average. Test weights are lighter at the co-op’s Onaga and Alta Vista locations. More wheat was planted in the Alta Vista area last fall than usual, helping the elevator to take in nearly 400,000 bushels, which would be about double its annual total.
Palmer farmer Shane Ohlde says yields in southern Washington County are extremely variable, based on which fields received rain and which didn’t. The range is 45 to 85 bushels per acre, with a 60 bushel per acre average. Test weights range from 60 to 64 pounds per bushel, averaging 62 pounds. Ohlde says a blend of the varieties Everest, Cedar and Armour has consistently performed well.
Kurt Anderson, manager of Decatur Co-op Assn., says harvest is slow to get rolling in the Oberlin area. Early into the harvest season, yields range from 10 to 40 bushels per acre; Anderson anticipates a 25 to 30 bushel per acre average throughout the cooperative’s eight locations. Test weights range from 55 to 63 pounds per bushel, with 58 pounds per bushel the average. There have been no protein test results yet. Anderson expects harvest to be in full swing by this weekend.
Harvest began last week in the Colby area, according to KAWG Director Eric Sperber with Cornerstone Ag, LLC. Sperber says most of the wheat the elevator is receiving is coming from south of town; north of Colby the wheat is still green. Yields range from 7 to 44 bushels per acre, averaging about 25 bushels; test weights average about 60 pounds per bushel and protein is steady at 13. Sperber says about 40% of the wheat acres planted last fall were abandoned due to drought.
The 2013 Harvest Report is brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, and the Kansas Grain & Feed Association.