News

Even with rain this week, crop outlook for southern Kansas remains bleak

Sporadic rainfall in the Great Plains did little to help the crop outlook and alleviate drought conditions.

Southwestern Kansas farmer Gary Millershaski says he’s been waiting for some moisture to begin planting, and an inch of rain will help. “Where we’re going to plant some dryland corn and a lot of milo, this is going to help that more than anything.”

He tells Brownfield that was the first time in over a year with moisture, but it won’t help his winter wheat crop. “There is very little as far as wheat that is going to make good.  Maybe 10 to 20 percent of the wheat is going to get cut.”

AgriGold Agronomist Kris Young says most of the winter wheat acres were are already a total loss.“I mean it’s barely a foot tall.  It’s starting to head out.  The lower leaves are brown. Some areas of the state caught a rain.  This wheat, if it caught a rain, we could still produce some grain and maybe have yields as high as 20 to 30 bushels in places.”

Young says rain events were not widespread, and a portion of the winter wheat crop has gone without moisture since it was planted in the fall.