Slow initial going in US Plains wheat harvest

The southern Plains hard red winter wheat harvest is on standby. Enduring spring rains have kept farmers from collecting wheat that is ready for combining and contributed to lower wheat condition ratings in some areas.

Harvest has been sporadically active for a few weeks in Texas and Oklahoma, where new crop wheat has been sold off the combine into southerly lanes to Mexico or to the Texas Gulf for export. Harvest moved into southern Kansas around June 9. Crop progress numbers issued June 16 by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reflected a harvest that is behind the average pace in Kansas (3% harvested by June 15 compared with 11% as the five-year average), Oklahoma (30% versus 46%) and Texas (56% in contrast with 57%).

Hard red winter wheat growers in the northern Plains of South Dakota and Montana welcomed mid-June rains to alleviate the abnormal dryness and drought conditions plaguing the region for the past few months. But rain was not yet making a positive impact on crop condition ratings in that area, nor in the southern Plains. The Plains crop was seeded in dry conditions and received some moisture last fall that helped seeds germinate.

But emergence was spotty before dormancy and Mother Nature kept Plains producers on pins and needles awaiting moisture in March and early April before opening the spigot around Easter. That rain likely saved the crop in many parts of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. But the moisture was not evenly applied, so select areas of both states were rife with abandoned fields where wheat was grazed or cut for hay or silage when the Wheat Quality Council toured the area in mid-May.

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The USDA rated the portion of the crop in good-to-excellent condition as of June 15 at 49% in Kansas (50% a week earlier), 62% in Oklahoma (58% a week earlier), 37% in Texas (41%), 66% in Colorado (66%), 42% in Nebraska (43%), 32% in South Dakota (32%) and 47% (all good) in Montana (57%). Winter wheat headed by the same date was 98% in Kansas (99% as the average for the date), 90% in Colorado (91%), 94% in Nebraska (92%), 78% in South Dakota (80%) and 38% in Montana (36%).

Scattered rain showers concentrated most heavily over central and east-central Kansas on June 17 also straddled the Kansas-Nebraska border and covered most of the latter state’s Panhandle region. Early attempts at wheat collection in Kansas have concentrated so far in the central and southcentral regions of the state, from Stafford, Pratt and Barber counties in the west to Harvey, Sedgwick and Sumner counties in the east, and north to Ellsworth County. However, Kansas Wheat’s Day 1 harvest report on June 16 said farmers have gotten into dry fields along the Interstate 135 corridor as far north as Mitchell County.

The report, issued with support from the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, the Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council, said wheat combining efforts have been slow going amid scattered showers and high humidity that have kept combines out of fields until late afternoon if not out for the day.

It’s been hit or miss since harvest kicked off June 9 near Conway Springs, Kansas, US, in Sumner County. Chris Stevens, general manager of the Farmers Coop Grain Association, told Kansas Wheat the location has taken in about 10% of expected bushels versus the halfway mark as the typical progress for the date. Spotty harvests have not allowed good estimates of average test weights for the region.

Yields in the area have ranged from 26 to 50 bushels per acre, which would be an average crop. Stevens said some later-maturing varieties had the advantage this year because of the rains, and noted that the area doesn’t have any disease pressure so far this year.

Harvest near Cheney, Kansas, US, in Sedgwick County, began a day later. Chris Fryer, grain merchandiser with CoMark Equity Alliance, told Kansas Wheat the site has only taken in about 5% of the expected bushels for 2025, a stark contrast to about 33% as the average for the date. Despite rains keeping harvest at bay sporadically, quality has been very good so far, and yields are better than last year, Fryer said.

Plains Grains, Inc., in its latest edition of the HRW Crop Report out June 13, gave updates for Colorado and Nebraska.

In Colorado, wheat field days were conducted in muddy and wet fields, an inconvenience for scouts that should nonetheless be beneficial for wheat plants during the grain fill period. “Feeling positive” about the crop, PGI said, noting some spotty stands and viral symptoms, but otherwise OK wheat in east central Colorado. Northeastern Colorado wheat conditions were average to slightly below average, likely due to drought stress in April, from which the crop had a hard time recovering. The northeastern crop was overall in good shape but struggled with viral issues (an almost total shift to Triticum mosaic from wheat streak in the previous crop) and some stripe rust (too late to be an issue) but no leaf rust. Hail damage and forecasts for more were both slight, but present. Saw fly populations are lower in hot spot areas. With dry weather in forecasts, southeastern Colorado could begin harvesting by June 23, while northeastern Colorado could begin by July 4.

Nebraska saw heavy moisture in the second week of June before hot temperatures and dry weather moved in. Stripe rust was evident in the southcentral and southeast parts of the state that received more moisture. Some saw fly presence was noted moving further south out of the Panhandle toward the southwest corner of the state. Southeast and southcentral Nebraska fields were turning color and could begin harvest between June 22 and 27.

Tags: wheat, USA, harvesting