Sun is setting on 2002 harvest years ago
Reports from area grain cooperatives indicate the wheat harvest is almost complete.
Elevator managers said the crop came close to the 10-year average of 35-40 bushels per acre.
Mike Thomas at Cooperative Grain and Supply at Marion estimated the bushels taken in to be a little less than last year. He said that was due to less acres sown and lower yields on part of the crop.
Thomas said later-harvested fields yielded better than earlier ones.
Dick Tippin, grain coordinator at Cooperative Grain and Supply at Hillsboro said harvest is pretty well finished, with total bushels right around the 10-year average. Farmers are reporting yields of 30-60 bushels per acre.
Some wheat continues to come in to the elevator at Lincolnville. Total bushels delivered was expected to be down slightly from a year ago, manager Perry Gutsch said. Yields are ranging from 23 to 57 bushels per acre with an average of 35 or more.
Manager Stan Utting at Agri-Producers, Inc., at Tampa said harvest is about complete. He expected total bushels delivered to the co-op to be about 75-80 percent of last year. He said a few less acres were planted and some yields were poor.
At Mid-Kansas Co-op in Peabody, manager Chris Bielefeld said intake was slightly below last year, but some "pretty decent yields" of 55-60 bushels per acre were reported. Many reported yields in the 40s. He said a few fields around Aulne received some hail damage.
Bryan Harper, manager of Mid-Kansas Co-op at Florence, reported a good harvest in that area. He said total bushels were down about 30,000 from the five-year average, but that was due mainly to less acres sown. He said farmers were reporting average yields of at least 40 bushels per acre.
The crop around Burns was "pretty decent," according to elevator manager Herb Gaines. "It was not big but did better than most people expected."
He said the elevator took in about 75 percent of its usual deliveries. He speculated that might have been due to less acres sown and some of the crop not as good. Yields averaged about 30-55 bushels per acre.
Harvest was excellent in the Goessel area, according to Lyle Christ, manager of the local Mid-Kansas Co-op. He said harvest was completed on Tuesday, with total deliveries above the four-year average. Farmers generally reported average yields of 49 to 60 bushels per acre.
Farmers around Durham were "pleasantly surprised" at their wheat harvest, said Curtis Frick, elevator manager. He said, considering how poor wheat was out in western Kansas, they were well satisfied.
Looking ahead, Mike Thomas said, prospects are excellent for a good fall harvest. Some corn is beginning to tassel and beans and milo are growing well. He said cooler temperatures are helping crops, but more rain is needed to keep them from becoming stressed.
