Wheat Tour 24 continued Wednesday with six routes between Colby and Wichita, Kansas. About 69 people from 19 U.S. states, traveled in 18 cars on those six routes, stopping at wheat fields every 15-20 miles along the routes, as part of the Wheat Quality Council’s 66th Annual Hard Winter Wheat Evaluation Tour. One of those routes took scouts into the Oklahoma Panhandle and across the northern tier of Oklahoma counties on US 60 before coming north to arrive in Wichita on late Wednesday afternoon.
Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays checks in again with Oklahoma Wheat Grower President Dennis Schoenhals- this time after the report session in Wichita, Kansas on Wednesday evening. Hear their conversation by clicking o the LISTEN BAR below:
As expected, the second day found more drought stress and ended up with a lower bushel per acre yield than on day one- but well above the year ago levels. Scouts made a total of 216 stops and found an average yield of 42.4 bushels per acre. That compares to 27.6 bushels per acre a year ago and 56.7 bushels per acre in 2021. The highest yield calculated on Wednesday was 101 bushels per acre while one car found a field with an expected yield of just 5 bushels per acre.
The two day totals on 422 stops here in 2024 is an average of 45.8 bushels per acre. K-State’s Romulo Lollato said the theme of the day was variability, even within fields. Groups saw a lot of drought stress and freeze damage, with some fields already being destroyed. Not as much stripe rust or Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus were observed on Wednesday, compared to Tuesday, likely due to drought conditions.
Farmers in the area reported that combines will probably start rolling by June 1 in south central Kansas, about seven to ten days earlier than average. There wasn’t as much fungicide applied in the southern areas of Kansas because the stripe rust started coming on in a later growth stage.
Schoenhals and his car made the route south from Colby down into Oklahoma and then rolled east on US 64 into Alfalfa and Grant Counties before heading north into Wichita. They saw wheat starting to turn color and like the field shown below- with a expected yield of 31 bushels per acre. Schoenhals says the flash drought of some 83 days was clearly seen in those north central Oklahoma counties- estimating yields from 14 bushels up to low 30s which assumes favorable weather in these final days in northern Oklahoma before the start of harvest- which could happen in and around Enid by Memorial Day weekend- and in southern counties in the Oklahoma wheat belt- by May 20th.
A summary of day two from the Kansas Wheat Growers can be seen by clicking here.
Wheat Tour 24 continues Thursday with six routes between Wichita and Manhattan. A final production estimate will be announced Thursday afternoon.
