Day 1 of the 61st Wheat Quality Council hard red winter wheat evaluation tour, through northern Kansas and south central, had nearly 90 reporters make a total of 317 stops, creating an average estimated yield of 38.2 bushels per acre. This compares with 222 stops last year, which saw a 43-bushel-per-acre average.
Most reporters indicated the tour’s higher average fields were better toward the start of the tour at Manhattan and got worse as the tour went west toward its Day 1 terminus at Colby. Just about every car reported the wheat was far behind schedule, but with the crop not as ready as it usually is there were fewer diseases and almost no insects available to attack it.
Colorado and Nebraska agriculture officials reported their tour results at the Colby terminus meeting. Glenda Mostek, of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, reported an estimated average of 35 bushels per acre at 70 million bushels production on 2 million planted acres.
Kent Lorens of the Nebraska Wheat Board reported an estimated average of 43 bushels per acres at 43.7 million bushels production of 1.07 million planted acres.
Day 2 of the tour will take most cars directly south, some all the way to northern Oklahoma. They’ll all eventually turn east to end the day at Wichita.
Larry Dreiling can be reached at 785-628-1117 or [email protected].
