Participants on the Kansas Wheat Quality Council Tour found wheat crops across much of the state under heavy stress from dry conditions, freeze damage and disease pressure after a season that initially showed strong promise.
Agronomists, bakers, crop consultants and other industry representatives spent last week surveying wheat fields across Kansas as part of the annual tour, according to Kansas State University wheat production specialist Romulo Lollato and agronomist Jeanne Falk Jones.
Roughly 60 tour participants traveled six routes during the first day of evaluations, stopping at nearly 200 fields to estimate yield potential and assess crop health.
Falk Jones said wheat conditions deteriorated after favorable planting and fall weather gave way to unusually warm winter temperatures followed by damaging frost events.
According to Falk Jones, drought and freeze injury were among the most common issues observed during the tour. She explained that continued hot and dry weather could further reduce crop prospects, referencing the latest WASDE report.
Some parts of Kansas have received less than an inch of precipitation since Jan. 1, limiting crop development and adding stress during critical growth stages. Even so, Falk Jones said additional rainfall in the coming weeks could still help improve yield potential in some fields.
Lollato said dry weather conditions also contributed to elevated crown rot pressure this season and added that wheat curl mite activity also was detected in portions of the state during field inspections.
Tour participants also met with producers along the routes to discuss crop conditions and management concerns. Farmers near Hoisington, Kan. told visitors the current wheat crop was the shortest they had encountered in their farming careers.
Some participants predicted that certain fields may be abandoned if conditions continue to decline. Producers in several areas also reported that crop insurance adjusters were expected to inspect fields this week.
Despite widespread concerns, agronomists believe timely precipitation could still stabilize conditions and benefit portions of the Kansas wheat crop before harvest.
Source: Kansas State University Extension, "Kansas Wheat Tour reveals challenging conditions across the state"