The final estimate for the 2010 hard red winter wheat tour sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council was announced today at the Kansas City Board of Trade. The final participant estimate for the three-day tour average was a yield of 40.7 bushels per acre, .1 bushels lower than the 2009 estimate of 40.8 bushels per acre.
Participants in the tour made individual estimates on the total size of the crop, with the weighted average at 333.5 million bushels. Last year's final estimate for the tour was 333.3 million bushels. Crop scouts on the tour spent Tuesday, Wednesday and today surveying Kansas, usually the top U.S. wheat producing state, trying to assess the production potential of hard red winter wheat for this year.
On the first day of the tour, groups left Manhattan, Kansas and traveled different routes to Colby, Kansas. The crop after the first day was summed up as a “consistent” crop, with fields observed seen as mostly disease free. Drier conditions were observed as the tour progressed westward throughout the northern tier of the state. Disease that could become a problem if full-blown was composed of some powdery mildew, rust, tan spotting and nitrogen deficiency, and all in minimal amounts.
On the second day of the tour, groups left Colby, Kansas and traveled different routes to Wichita, Kansas. Participants viewed fields as “excellent to average” condition. Overall the crop appears to have minimal disease stress. Drier conditions were noted as the tour moved further south into the Southwest region of the state. This year’s crop was noted as planted late in several areas due to late harvesting of corn and soybeans in wake of moisture problems last fall.
Harvest is estimated to begin in Kansas in four to six weeks, with tour participants noting further development of wheat at this time of the year. Estimates for day three were at 46.4 bushels per acre, up from 43.7 bushels per acre last year for the third day.
Emphasis was placed on the fact that this is what the current crop looks like at this given point in time. Weather, including amounts of rain and temperatures, will continue to be a major factor in the outcome of this year’s crop.
More detailed information from the tour can be found on the KCBT’s website at http://www.kcbt.com/crop_tour_1.html