Kansas wheat seen average, crop scouts

Crop scouts surveying hundreds of wheat fields through Kansas said they found mostly average to above-average yield potential in the top US wheat-producing state, thanks to recent dousings of beneficial rainfall. Crop potential in neighbouring Oklahoma, another top US wheat-growing state, was disappointing, however.
Crop scouts who surveyed fields through that state estimated drought, freeze damage, and other detrimental conditions have left the state with potential production of only 77.4 million bushels with an estimated average yield of 20.3 bushels per acre. Last year, the state produced 166.5 million bushels with an average yield of 37 bushels per acre, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
"We're going to have a significant loss in wheat production for the wheat producers this year," said Oklahoma Wheat Commission executive director Mike Schulte. "It kind of looks bleak down in our area." Schulte said that based on assessments through the state, harvested acreage projected at 3.8 million acres. Planted acreage this season was 5.8 million acres, according to USDA. Harvest should get under way by late May in Oklahoma, Schulte said.
Crop conditions were significantly better in Kansas, which has about 9 million acres seeded to winter wheat this year, about 20 percent of the US total. Rainfall over the last three weeks has boosted yield potential, and the crop largely escaped damage from an early April freeze.
Crop scouts led by the Wheat Quality Council surveyed 427 fields over Tuesday and Wednesday and estimated 40.6 bushels per acre. Last year, scouts surveying 357 fields in the same areas of the state estimated an average yield of 43.3 bushels per acre. Over the last eight years, the yield for the same areas has been about 39 bushels per acre.
Western Kansas fields, which crop scouts surveyed Wednesday, were better than expected. "The stands this year are so much better in western Kansas overall than this time last year," said Kansas State University agronomist Jim Shroyer, who was helping scout fields Wednesday, Groups of scouts making assessments of 212 wheat fields along the western third and southern parts of the US farm state reported yield potential of 39.8 bu/acre for those areas.
A year ago, participants surveying the regions found an average estimated yield of 40.9 bushels per acre. Over the last eight years, the routes have seen estimated yields averaging 37 bushels per acre.