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Dry conditions mean stunted growth
Published 6/14/2008 in News : Area coverage
BY MONICA SPRINGER
mspringer@gctelegram.com
South and west of Johnson City in Stanton County, Kenny Tilley hoped to have about 600 acres of wheat. He said he certainly hadn't anticipated having to destroy it all.
"We had some wheat that never came out of the ground," Tilley said. "Because of the windy and dry conditions, the wheat never did anything."
Deena Painter, with the Stanton County Extension office, said Tilley has not been the only one to plow up a wheat field this season.
"There's very little dryland out there," she said.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared drought warnings and watches Wednesday. A drought warning was issued for Hamilton, Stevens, and Stanton counties where the conditions of wheat fields are dire.
The western part of the state in June was hotter and drier than normal, according to the K-State Research and Extension Weather Data Library, with rainfall amounting to only 17 percent of the average, and weekly average temperatures climbing six degrees higher than normal.
Jeff Wilson, Hamilton County Extension agent, said the dry weather combined with a freeze in April are reasons why this year's wheat is not looking good.
Ernie Battin, county executive director for the Farm Service Agency, said he went to the northern part of Hamilton County Friday to inspect some fields. The northern part of the county caught some rain showers that the rest of the county did not see.
"The difference is night and day," Battin said.
Battin estimated more than 10 percent of the wheat fields have been failed out or destroyed.
John Ashmore, who has land seven miles north of Syracuse in Hamilton County, said he went and looked at his wheat fields Friday morning. The berries are looking decent. He said if the hot, dry winds keep up, though, the wind will shrivel the berries. He's expecting to start cutting in 10 or 12 days, he said.
Ashmore said some farmers who have received rain in the county will begin cutting in about a week. He expects to get 25 or 30 bushels an acre. He said fields that received rain are looking like they will get 40 bushels an acre.
Like Tilley, Ashmore said he had fields that didn't even come up.
Things are looking better in Finney County, where a drought watch is in effect, along with Greeley, Haskell, Kearny, Scott and Wichita counties.
Whitey Whitehill, Finney County Extension agent, said the dryland wheat is maturing fast. He expects harvest to begin next week. Crop conditions in Finney County vary, Whitehill said.
"It's nowhere near the crop we had last year," Whitehill said.
Whitehill also said the recent storms took a toll on some crops. The dry, hot winds and hot weather can affect the wheat's yield and test rate. When a soft berry is beginning to dry down, if it dries up too quickly, it will cause shriveling of the wheat berry.
Paul Pfeifer, a producer who has 1,200 acres of wheat in northwest Finney County, said the wheat isn't going to yield as good as last year. He's looking at harvesting next weekend. He also had a lot of hail, and the fields that were not hailed on will not yield like last year because of the hot winds sitting on the berry.
"When the berry is forming, the hot wind can burn the bloom," Pfeifer said.
On his 400 acres that received hail, he estimated the loss between 50 and 100 percent. Pfeifer said he expects to get 40 to 50 bushels an acre on the rest.
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