Parson, Kansas —
The wheat fields of America’s heartland and their amber waves of grain inspired Katharine Lee Bates to mention them in her song “Amer-ica the Beautiful.”
That was in 1895 and now, in 2010, those ripening, golden wheat fields are beginning to wave yet again and harvest is nearly upon us.
According to Jeff Edwards, Oklahoma State University Extension small grains specialist, the wheat in Oklahoma is generally looking pretty good.
“Overall, wheat yields are coming in pretty good where they have started in southwest Oklahoma,” he explained. “Harvest is starting to make its progression to the north but the humid days are slowing things up a bit.”
Although the wheat in Oklahoma seems to be in good shape, Edwards feels acres were down just a little.
“Due to rainfall during the fall planting was delayed,” he said. “We also had more people double-cropping last year. Some of those crops came off later and that prevented wheat from going in the ground.”
Approximately 5.5 million acres were planted to wheat in Oklahoma.
With the recent rains that fell across the state, Edwards is somewhat concerned as harvest moves northward.
“A big issue right now is rainfall,” he said. “In northern Oklahoma we already have saturated ground and the wheat isn’t quite ready. If it continues to rain I am fearful we could run into muddy conditions.”
But, when looking at the wheat that has come in already, Edwards feels the crop is looking good so far.
“In our test plots near Altus we are seeing 50 bushel to the acre yields which fits into the 40-60 bushel per acre yield we are shooting for,” he explained. “Test weights are coming in around 60 pounds so things are looking good so far.”
The kicker this year, according to Edwards, is the low protein level of wheat harvested.
Weather, again, is a major contributing factor to lower protein levels in this year’s crop.
“Most models predict you need hot temperatures during grain fill to boost protein,” he explained. “We had more cool, wet weather during that time so it really worked against us.”
He also attributes the lower protein levels to the fact that last winter was so wet and producers weren’t able to top-dress or get their wheat fertilized in a timely fashion.
Weather conditions alone were not the only factor in how much nitrogen fertilizer got applied. Economics in general played a big role as well.
“Coming off of a freeze year last year and just a tough couple wheat years in general, cash flow prevented some producers from fertilizing as much as they would like to,” he explained.
Cutting back on nitrogen applications, according to Edwards, leads to less protein and lower yield.
“My question is, if we wouldn’t have cut back, could we be looking at 50 to 70 bushel yields this year?” he asked. “It behooves our farmers to do a good job with fertilization because it directly impacts grain yield.”
Another factor affecting grain yields this year, according to Edwards, was the presence of barley yellow dwarf in wheat fields.
“We have seen a lot of barley yellow dwarf this year which meant we had aphid issues earlier in the year,” he explained.
Although he said it is hard to say how much that affected yield, he felt it did account for some reduced yields.
“The presence of barley yellow dwarf in Oklahoma wheat fields could have knocked as much as 20 percent off the overall yield, but definitely not in every case.”
Edwards feels Oklahoma wheat harvest will more than likely be in full swing in another week or two and overall the crop is going to be very productive.
As he contemplated the world wheat outlook Edwards was not optimistic about any price increase this year for wheat.
“I think the way things are shaping up, in terms of total production, we will be close to average or above average production,” he explained. “Due to carryover stocks on the world market I don’t see improvement on price.”
Front page stories
Related Photos
-
Jeff Edwards Oklahoma State University
-
Wheat Harvest in north west Oklahoma Near Burlington and Lamont Oklahoma State University
Protein and production down some in Oklahoma wheat fields
- Front page stories
-
-
Specialists discuss spring crops at SEARC field day in Parsons
At the recent SEARC Crops Field Day near Parsons, Kan., area growers viewed 19 hard red winter varieties and six soft wheats. Farmers will be looking for big yields, the scientists will harvest a bumper crop of information.
-
2012 Four State Farm Show
Anyone in the market for anything agricultural only has to wait a little bit longer to shop at the biggest outdoor agricultural mall in the area. The 38th Annual Four State Farm Show held near Pittsburg, Kansas is just around the corner.
-
When it comes to weed control get started early
So far, 2012 has been anything but normal in southeast Kansas, attendes were told at the recent K-State Beef Cattle and Forage Crops Field Day in Mound Valley, Kansas.
-
K-State research looks at wet corn gluten feed
Those in attendance at the recent K-State Beef Cattle and Forage Crops Field Day held near Mound Valley, Kansas got the chance to hear not only what was going on at the research center, but also at Manhattan.
-
Celebrating Earth Day
Students attending Earth Day were able to visit exhibits such as the barnyard zoo, tools of the industry, ag jeopardy, what’s in a slice of pizza, Kansas Soybean Commission, Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Kansas Wheat Growers.
-
Continuing on with a mission
Although there are many things that drive change in farming, few could be made without research, science and scientists.
-
Preparing for an early harvest
Unusually mild winter and spring temperatures have area farmers preparing for an early wheat harvest. If trends continue, Doug Shoup, K-State Extension area agronomist, says this year’s wheat crop could actually be closer to three weeks early.
-
Horsefest had it all for the horse and rider
Three beautiful spring days greeted horse enthusiasts attending Horsefest last weekend at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Missouri.
-
Study shows ‘lean finely textured beef’ improves burger quality
Consumers worried about the quality of ground beef based on recent media reports about "lean finely textured beef" used to increase the protein content of some ground beef products may be reassured by the results of a study conducted last fall by a University of Arkansas student majoring in animal science.
-
Raising food to feed the people
Many things have changed in the swine industry over the past 60 years but, Springer Family Foods is still producing food for people to eat.
- More Front page stories Headlines
-
