2012 Wheat Tour: Day Two

Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat’s Director of Marketing, reports from Wichita:

The 2012 Wheat Quality Council Hard Red Winter Wheat Tour departed Colby early Tuesday morning with expectations of lower yield predictions than those recorded on day one. The participants took six routes across the western and southern sections of Kansas to reach Wichita Wednesday evening. In all, 286 field stops were made.

The group estimated a Day Two average of 43.7 bushels per acre. This compares to 33.4 in 2011. The two-day average for the 2012 tour is 48.5 bpa, compared to 36.7 last year. Good yields were noted between Colby and Scott City and in far West Central Kansas.

Drought impact was more notable on Day Two, particularly in Southwest Kansas. The worst drought-stressed wheat is generally south of a Scott City to Hoisington line and west of a Hoisington to Medicine Lodge line. Some southwest counties did receive rain early this week, but more will be needed within the next seven days.

Crop conditions improve dramatically and quickly east of Medicine Lodge into South Central Kansas.

There is some very good wheat in South Central Kansas that has adequate moisture and is for the most part disease free. The combination of fungicide applications and heat seem to have kept rust in check. Storm damage was less than expected.

Crop progress is still three weeks ahead of schedule and most on the tour predicted that it may begin in as little as three weeks in Southern Kansas. On Day Three, tour participants will make a handful of field stops on their way to the Kansas City Board of Trade where the group’s 2012 Kansas production estimate will be announced Thursday afternoon.

Follow the Wheat Tour on Twitter: #wheattour12

This field near Meade in Meade County is estimated to yield about 20 bushels per acre. Topsoil conditions are moist. Photo by Aaron Harries

Near Scott City, dryland wheat could yield about 65 bushels per acre, if the weather holds. Photo by Aaron Harries

At Wind River Grain in Garden City, Charlie tells tour scouts how Kansas wheat is efficiently shipped to domestic mills all across the US as well as export facility to supply valued export customers.Photo by Justin Gilpin

Near Sublette, this field of wheat could bring about 26 bushels per acre, according to crop scouts on the Wheat Quality Council’s Wheat Tour. Photo by Aaron Harries

Wheat Tour crop scouts in a drought-stressed field in Kearny County. This field is estimated to yield 15 bushels per acre, but it probably will not be harvested. Photo by Justin Gilpin

Near Ashland in Comanche County, this field is estimated to yield 30 bushels per acre. Harvest could be three weeks away, as drought has hastened ripening. Photo by Aaron Harries

Near Medicine Lodge in the Gyp Hills area of South Central Kansas, the wheat looks better than SW Kansas. This field is estimated at 58 bushels per acre. Photo by Aaron Harries

Near Harper, this disease-free field featured large heads and plump kernels. It estimates at 65 bushels per acre. Photo by Aaron Harries

2012 Wheat Tour: Day One

Aaron Harries, Kansas Wheat Director of Marketing, reports from Colby:

More than 100 individuals (a record crowd), including representatives from Mexico, Brazil and Japan left Manhattan early Tuesday morning to kick of the 2012 Wheat Quality Council Hard Red Winter Wheat Tour.  The participants took six routes across the northern half of Kansas to reach Colby Tuesday evening.  In total, 267 field stops were made.

The average yield for day one estimated by the group was 53.6 bushels per acre.  This is a record high potential year noted after day one for the history of the tour (last year, the yield after Day One was 40 bushels per acre).  The high yield estimate for the day was 120 bpa while the low was 21. 

The 2012 tour is unique in the fact that most of the fields visited have headed out this year with a crop that is 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule.  This changes the formula used to predict the yield and hypothetically should offer more accurate results.  However, there are many factors that can affect yield now and between harvest, which is estimated to be 4-6 weeks away in Northern Kansas.

Consensus from the group was that the best wheat on day one was along the I-135 corridor.  That is also where the disease pressure was highest, particularly stripe rust.  It appears that a majority of farmers had sprayed the crop with fungicide in that area. Conditions worsened heading west as drought stress was very notable in the Barton County area.  Windy and warm conditions are expediting the decline of the crop in the dry areas.  The wheat improved again north of I-70 and west of Hays towards Colby. Top soil moisture was adequate in Northwest Kansas, but subsoil is lacking in the same areas.

Stripe rust, barley yellow dwarf and wheat streak mosaic virus were the most common diseases noted.  Insect pressure seems to be waning.  Most of the fields were in the flowering to milk stage. As is typical, moisture and temperatures will be critical factors in the next 15 days.  However, it is safe to say that the 2012 crop looks much better than the below average crop of the past two years.

On day two, the group departs from Colby and spreads across the western and southern parts of the state with a destination of Wichita Wednesday evening. 

Follow the Wheat Tour on Twitter: #wheattour12

This field of wheat near Hill City is estimated to yield about 57 bushels per acre. Photo by Aaron Harries

A great looking field of Rush County wheat is estimated to yield about 50 bushels per acre. Soil moisture is very good in this region. Photo by Aaron Harries

Rust spores collected on the boots of tour participants in Phillips County. Photo by Justin Gilpin

 

The Wheat Tour

Bright and early this morning, more than 100 brave souls embarked upn a three-day journey that will enlighten, entertain and inform.

The journey is the Wheat Quality Council’s annual Wheat Quality Tour of Kansas; the brave souls include farmers; representatives from the milling and baking industry; wheat industry folks; government employees and journalists. The group breaks up in several different carloads to travel four different routes throughout Kansas, stopping to evaluate random fields of wheat along the way. Their mission? Estimate yield, disease and weed pressure of the current crop, and learn more about the nation’s largest wheat-growing state.

From Manhattan this morning, the crew descends upon Colby; then Wichita Wednesday; and Kansas City on Thursday, where each tour participant offers an estimate of the total Kansas wheat crop. The estimates are averaged, thus giving an official estimate of the Kansas wheat crop.

It’s a good exercise for folks involved in the wheat industry, who normally don’t get a chance to see a wheat crop. Or Kansas, for that matter. Over the next three days, they will see plenty of both!

Check in the next three days for coverage “from the field.”

Here are some pre-tour stories you may be interested in:

Bloomberg News
The Kansas City Board of Trade
DTN/Progressive Farmer

 

The Buzz

Drought, GM wheat and a land sale near Halstead.

Kansas wheat farmers right now are probably most worried about the threat of a late spring freeze. However, year-in and year-out, drought is the most typical concern. Scientists at Texas A&M are working to find out just where drought resistance is coming from in some of that university’s major varieties.

• The Ogallala Aquifer Program is funding a project to identify the key genetic regulators of drought tolerance in TAM 111, 112 and 304, each of which are popular in the High Plains and possess different abilities to withstand water stress. However, researchers don’t know why or how the differences in drought stress tolerance occur. Identifying where the tolerance comes from could unlock dramatic improvement in yield potential…
• Finding solutions to environmental stresses in wheat is critical to the long-term success of wheat farmers. DuPont Crop Protection, through its Crop Protection Plus program, reports that 2011 was second most catastrophic year for wheat farmers in the High Plains (2007 was the worst). The company says claims for its Crop Protection Plus program totaled more than 145,000 acres due mainly to drought and wildfire…
• Despite the challenges, DuPont  expects wheat acres to continue to increase in 2013, from Texas to North Dakota. Acres lying fallow due to wetness in the northern states will be suited for wheat production, as will acres coming out of CRP in Kansas, Colorado and Texas… 
• In the U.K., the furor over non-GM wheat is as raucous as the crowed at an Italian soccer match. Jim Moseley is finding that out firsthand; an article in the Farmers Guardian says that Moseley, president of the Food and Drink Federation in England, is pleading with politicians, consumers and food purveyors to consider the merits of GM wheat. Moseley says nearly a billion people in the world go hungry, despite increased productivity from the world’s farmers…
• The European Union is staunchly opposed to GM crops of all kinds. An outfit called “GM Freeze” believes GM wheat “…would have a profound impact on the food chain because of the constant threat of contamination from seed to plate…” …
• If you’re a fan of ”The Buzz,” you know we enjoy all wheat foods, especially beer. Among our favorites: the portfolio of wheat beers from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City. In a fun article from the Kansas City Star called, “50 Things Every Kansas Citian Should Know,” the newspaper reports that Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat is the company’s top seller. In all, the craft brewer sold some 150,000 barrels of beer last year…
• Attention, eastern Kansas Caterpillar/Challenger customers: your dealer just changed hands. Dean Ag Services, based in Chillicothe and Maryville, Missouri, was recently bought by Ziegler Ag Equipment, based in Minnesota. The purchase expands Ziegler Ag into Missouri and Kansas; the company now has 23 locations in five states. …
• A Big Ol’ Buzz Salute to our friends at AgAM in Kansas, and to Dr. Dan Thomson (pictured) at K-State. AgAM’s “Doc Talk” program will begin airing on RFD-TV at 3:30 p.m. each Monday. It’s been a long road for Bryan Hallman, who runs AgAM and is one of the industry’s good guys…
• While the wheat industry – particularly the farmer segment – is eager at the thought of an early harvest, such an event could be bad news for outdoorsmen and the state’s pheasant population, writes Michael Pearce, outdoors reporter with the Wichita Eagle. In his April 26 Outdoors Newsletter, Pearce suggests that in central and western Kansas, hen pheasants like to nest in the green wheat. An early harvest could destroy nests and young chicks, he writes…
• This week’s Land Sale features a 177 tract of irrigated cropland northwest of Halstead in Harvey County. It sold April 2. The tract included 156 irrigated and 14 dryland acres. The irrigated portion is watered with a Valley pivot, and the well pumps 1,000 gallons per minute. The buyer was to receive 50% of the growing crop; irrigated acres are planted to corn and dryland, to wheat. The tract brought $849,600 ($4,800 per acre)…
• Bidding at this sale was active, although a 127-acre tract located in Reno County that was scheduled to sell at this auction did not fetch a selling bid, according to the auctioneer. However, land in the area continues to accelerate in price. 

Hard Wheat to Hollywood: Wheat Harvest Run to be Made into Movie

Soon, custom harvest crews will descend upon Texas to begin a four- to five-month trek of moving north across The Wheat Belt, harvesting the wheat that feeds this nation and many others.

Tracy Zeorian, president of the Hutchinson-based U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. Tracy and her husband, Jim, own Zeorian Harvesting and Trucking, located in Manley, Neb. A family-run operation featuring one combine and supporting equipment, the Zeorians have documented their last four harvests in the “All Aboard Wheat Harvest” project, sponsored by the High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection and a great insight into the life of custom harvesters.

Conrad Weaver, Tracy Zeorian, Jenna Zeorian and Moriah Wagner came to Kansas Wheat to tell us about the Wheat Harvest Movie.

All Aboard Harvest has given the unsung heroes of harvest an audience and an appreciation to the trials and tribulations of custom harvesters. In an interesting twist of fate, it has also given life to a film treatment called “The Wheat Harvest Movie,” which chronicles the spirit of custom harvesters, but also is a fascinating look into the process of getting food from the wheat field to the kitchen table.

In a visit to the Kansas Wheat office over the winter, Conrad Weaver, executive producer/director of The Wheat Harvest Movie, said the story of wheat harvest is compelling, exciting and needs to be told. Four custom harvesting crews are featured in the movie, which will, “…tell of their struggles and pleasures, successes and failures, joys and sorrows and the sheer pleasure they share in time sent with family and friends harvesting the wheat that feeds the world,” he says.

The four crews are Zeorian Harvesting, Manley, Nebraska; JKD Inc., Colby, Kansas; Dan Misener, Elk City, Oklahoma and Kent Braathen, Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Preliminary video shooting and research began last summer. This year, Weaver and his crew at the Conjo Studios production company will follow wheat harvest progress over the entire season, from pre-trip planning to completion of the harvest this fall.

The film is expected to be premiered at the 30th Anniversary meeting of the USCHI, in Kansas City next March; Weaver hopes it will air on RFD-TV, too. In addition, the work will be submitted to film festivals around the country and eventually, will be released on DVD. Financial support for the film comes from USCHI, but Weaver is seeking additional support. For more, log onto the Web site: www.wheatharvestmovie.com

The Buzz

Cheese, beer, Deere and deeds.  

We lead off this week’s Buzz on a big win for Kansas ag and industry. For years, the Kansas Departments of Agriculture and Commerce have worked with large-scale dairy farms in western Kansas to establish a manufacturing facility that could take advantage of the growing dairy industry in that part of the state. Early this week, Kansas Dairy Ingredients announced it will build a dairy ingredient and cheese plant in Hugoton in the next 18 months. 

• The first stage of the facility will be in operation by the end of this year. It will process about 1 million pounds of milk per day to produce fractionated dairy ingredients; the facility could be expanded next year to add cheese production and process 2.5 million pounds of milk per day by 2014. Over the next 18 months, KDI will invest more than $20 million into the plant. KDI will move its headquarters from Missouri to operations in Kansas City, Kan. and Hugoton…
• What are “fractionated dairy ingredients?” It is a process that “… allows milk to be broken into various components for use as an ingredient,” writes Hutch News reporter Amy Bickel…
• Click the link to check out the “new-old” feel of one of the state’s newest John Deere dealers. Hiawatha Implement, Hiawatha, has opened an impressive new store that “combines form with function,” according to an article in Farm Equipment news. The 40,000 square-foot business, which opened last August, has a host of unique features: doors from an old Commerce Bank in Kansas City; the reception desk from a law firm in Kansas City; slate floors; a high-tech conference/training room with room for 20; antique decorations adorning the walls and other items gathered from old hotels, warehouses and businesses across the nation…
• Larry Roeder and his wife Susanne Somers, who have owned the dealership for more than 30 years, say the dealership represents the commitment they have made to customers and employees, letting them know that, “…you are important and you deserve it.” … 
• Our friends at Boulevard Brewing Company are at it again. This summer the Kansas City company plans to launch a new wheat beer called “80 Acre Hoppy Wheat.” Boulevard – the nation’s 10th largest ‘craft brewery,’ – is adding the new brew to its lineup as an alternative to the myriad of designer beers available to beer drinkers in the Midwest…
• 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat uses a malted wheat from Minnesota, and soft wheat from Missouri. Lead Brewer Craig Pijanowski says the brew is similar to Boulevard Wheat beer, but featuring hops in the flavor and aroma profiles…
• Our friendly competitors in Europe may need a keg of 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat by the time harvest is over. The Kansas wheat crop looks great right now, but the United Kingdom and Spain are suffering from their worst drought in at least two decades, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Germany and France are also getting pummeled with dryness. The next two weeks will be vital to the crop, analysts predict…
• This week’s Land Sale features three dryland tracts totaling 270 acres, near Jamestown in Cloud County. Tract 1, 156 acres, has 132 acres nearly level tillable cropland planted to wheat; buyer receives 40% of the crop. Soils on this tract were a bit alkali, affecting the purchase price. It sold for $376,200 ($2,850 per tillable acre). Tract 2, 40 acres with 36 acres creekbottom tillable land planted to wheat, brought $147,600 ($4,100 per tillable acre). Tract 3, 76 acres, had 44 acres of cropland planted to wheat, and the balance in pasture, with fence and pond. It brought $172,500 ($2,270 per acre)…
• Auctioneer Lance Lagasse, with Larry Lagasse Auction and Real Estate, Concordia, said land prices have increased about 20% in the last year in the region. A roomful of qualified buyers attended the sale and were active bidders, he said.

Farm-to-Fork, Kindergarten Style

Julie Winsor, Director of Finance and Human Resources for Kansas Wheat, guest-blogs on her visit to Mrs. Martin’s Kindergarten class in Wamego, Kansas.

I was honored when Mrs. Martin, my son’s kindergarten teacher, asked me to present to the classroom on April 16^th.  The class has been sorting seeds, planting seeds and observing how seeds begin to develop into plants. They are also learning the different parts of a seed and the things that a seed needs to grow into a plant. I saw this as a great opportunity to share my knowledge of wheat with them. 

We started out by looking at the Kernel of Wheat poster and talking about the different parts of the wheat kernel, and then we planted the kernels into cups of dirt, watered them, and put them in the window sill to grow.

They should begin to sprout in about 6 to 8 days. 

After we planted our seeds, we sat down together to look at the book “Field to Flour” to learn about the process of planting wheat, harvesting, selling, and eventually milling it into flour.  When the children were asked if their moms had flour in their kitchens they excitedly answered, “Yes!”

Some had no idea that flour had come from a wheat plant. This was very intriguing to them.  When asked what products they could name that were made of wheat, most were right on: bread and cinnamon rolls were the most common answers.

By being fortunate enough to be afforded this opportunity, some of these children’s eyes were opened to the agriculture world at a young age. They learned where their food comes from and the process and work it takes to get it to them. I left them with the instruction to go home and ask their moms if they knew where their flour came from, and to share the story of the kernel of wheat with their parents.

Children at Wamego Elementary School plant tiny seeds of wheat in order to learn how plants grow and become food.

Kansas Wheat’s Julie Winsor explains to young people “how wheat becomes flour.”