Rain and Drought Affect Southwest Wheat Harvest

Many Southwest wheat farmers waited for rain last fall to plant. Now, many are waiting for rain to stop to begin harvest.

Oklahoma wheat harvest is two weeks behind, says Amanda De Oliviera Silva, Extension specialist for small grains at Oklahoma State University at Stillwater.

“Usually, we start wheat harvest soon after Memorial Day,” Silva says. “Some were able to start cutting during the May 21 weekend, but we got more rain over the weekend, and we couldn’t make any more progress,” adding that some were able to harvest June 1 and then again starting June 9.

In Texas, harvest progress is mixed, with some areas cutting wheat earlier than usual, and some facing weather delays.

Brandon Gerrish, Extension specialist in small grains and oilseed crops at Texas A&M University, College Station, says harvest is well underway in central Texas.

“Harvest has progressed up to the Hill County, between Waco and Dallas-Fort Worth,” he says. “Typically, producers will not start harvesting around Waco until after Memorial Day. Some started well before Memorial Day this year. That area struggled with March drought, so it’s not surprising to see early harvest.”

Gerrish says producers in central Texas, around San Angelo, started combining about in late May.

“Harvest in the Rolling Plains, Chillicothe and Vernon will be later than normal, but they had a later planting date,” he says, adding that the area’s producers often harvest in early June. “But it will be later. We saw a lot of late-planted acres. It was dry, and then they got too much rain.”

He says wheat farmers in northeast Texas are “waiting to dry out.”

Wheat harvest in the Texas Panhandle is two to three weeks off, Gerrish says. “Wheat around Perryton is two to three weeks from harvest — the third week and into the fourth week of June. Dryland wheat harvest could be earlier.” 

Waiting out the rain

“While harvest is later than usual in southwest Oklahoma, it appears that most varieties are set for cutting if producers can get over the ground,” Silva says.

She expects much of Oklahoma’s wheat crop will be ready to harvest at the same time.

“Stands in the warmer, southern part of the state were thin and more advanced when annual plot tours began,” she explains. “Those fields are ready to harvest as soon as producers can get into the fields.”

“When April rain started, the northern part of the state was in a good growth stage and was able to take advantage of the rain. So, we had a much better stand, a much better canopy and better conditions for grain fill for that northern part of the state.

“Now, everything will be ready to harvest at the same time.” 

Yield and quality

Weather will affect yield and quality, Silva and Gerrish say, but location will be a factor.

“Irrigated wheat in south Texas is OK,” Gerrish says. “Dryland is not good because of exceptional drought. The southern Blacklands, around Temple, also looks rough.”

He says small plot trials in that area have averaged 45 bushels per acre. “It’s not the best-looking wheat, but it is surprising how well some did.”

Gerrish says the south and mid-Blackland area, around McGregor, was “struggling two months ago from drought stress. Following rain in late March and early April, it was remarkable how it bounced back. Yields are still off, but rain salvaged some production. However, test weights have been much higher than last year for fields” before the recent rains. 

Grazing out

Elsewhere in Texas, “we’ve seen a lot of failed acres from Brady to San Angelo and a bit north. Fall and winter were too dry. On May 1 and 2 fields looked rough,” Gerrish says.

“Some producers were still running cattle in wheat,” he says. “With wheat prices low and cattle prices high, some producers kept cattle on, grazing longer than usual. We usually see a wheat price spike before harvest,” he adds. “I don’t think we will see that this year.”

The situation in Oklahoma is similar, Silva says. “I’ve seen a lot of lot of cattle in wheat, especially in the southwest corner of state,” she says.

She says abandonment is not an issue when farmers could use wheat to feed cattle and take advantage of the cattle market. In addition to grazing, some producers are cutting wheat for hay or silage.

Gerrish says conditions in the Texas High Plains are mixed. “I was up there recently and saw some dryland wheat near Perryton, 20 to 22 inches tall, that looked fair. Stand was average for dryland wheat in that area. I saw some of the best dryland wheat in the Panhandle near Groom, an area that got rain. Across the Panhandle, we’ve seen better dryland wheat in our trials than we’ve seen in the last three years.”

Heavy hail and winds as high as 70 mph in May took out a wheat trial near Groom. “We also heard reports of lodging,” he says. 

Quality ratings

For the small amount of wheat that has been harvested, reports indicate yields from 25 to 45 bushels per acre, Silva says, with test weights range from 58.5. to 64 pounds per bushel.

“A significant amount in the early reports came in at 60 pounds or higher,” she says. “Protein from early reports range from 11% to 11.5%.”

Early reports from Oklahoma on June 9 follow:

Tipton. Test weights on early cuttings range from 60 to 61 pounds per bushel. Yields on early cuttings range from mid-30s to mid-40s. Some management-intensive wheat reached the mid-60s.

Frederick and Davidson. Test weights on early cuttings are from 58 to 63 pounds per bushel. Yields on early cuttings are decent with reports in the mid-30s to mid-40s. Early proteins reported at 11% to 11.2%.

Altus, Roosevelt and Lone Wolf.  Test weights on early loads range from 60 to 64 pounds per bushel. Yields are in the mid-30s to mid-40s, with some intensively managed wheat making the low to mid-50s.

Sentinel. Test weights on early cuttings are at 61 to 63 pounds per bushel. Yields on early cuttings are in the mid-40s. Protein range from 10.8% to 11.2%.

Rocky. No wheat had been taken in at this location over the weekend. 

Greenfield.  A couple loads were taken in over the weekend. Test weight was 58.5 pounds per bushel. Yields and protein were not reported. Moisture on this cutting was 13.2%, but other samples in the area were 14% or higher. West of town got heavy rains last night (June 8). East and southeast of town, producers are hopeful to get in the field late this afternoon, June 9. Heavy rains reported North of Watonga yesterday evening (June 8).

Okarche, Reeding, Kingfisher and Lomega. Test weights on early cuttings were 60 to 63 pounds per bushel. Yields were in the mid-40s, with some management-intensive wheat in the mid-50s. Protein was reported from 10.9% to 11.2%.

No reports at locations further north than Lomega, on the Highway 33 corridor, were given. One producer did some test cutting by Lahoma, but nothing was reported on those early cuttings. Producers out by Fairview were hoping to try later this afternoon (June 9).

The Oklahoma Wheat Commission is calling harvest at 5% complete as of June 9.

Farmer expectations

Silva says farmer response from a weekly group text shows a range of harvest expectations.

“They report anything from in the “process of cutting” to “fighting mud” to “too wet.” Some are hoping to harvest the second week of June. Others expect to start in 10 days, and some were hoping to start sooner. A few reported areas where the wheat was still kind of green. I would say that’s a few days, maybe a week, away from harvest.”

Wheat quality ratings could be an issue with continued rainfall. “Wheat that is ready and, if it remains uncut for a long time, it could have issues with lower test weight and sprouting,” Silva says.

Light disease pressure

Gerrish says wheat disease pressure has not been significant. “Last year, we saw a lot of stripe rust. This year, I saw it once or twice in small bands, but it is almost nonexistent in our trails. Leaf rust came on late and was heavy in one area.”

Dry conditions, he says, resulted in one of the lightest rust years. “Some growers probably had to contend with leaf rust, but that was a problem only if they were lucky enough to get rain.”

He says he’s heard little about Hessian fly damage.

Soft red winter wheat yields are a bit higher than hard red. “In our trials, hard red yield is a little lower than last year. I’ve heard one report of soft wheat averaging 80 to 100 bushels from Hill County,” Gerrish says.

For now, a lot of folks are just waiting to harvest. Silva says spring has been a bit “crazy. It’s a month when it usually rains, but it’s been wet since April. We’ve been getting rain one after the other. It’s been a tough year, and at this point, we’re all just ready to get our wheat out of the field.”