Hot off the heels of some unexpected weather, some farmers have begun this year’s wheat harvest with promising results.
This year, wheat production in Oklahoma is forecasted to be 105.3 million bushels according to a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. An amount that is up 1% from last year.
According to the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, “the 2021 wheat harvest is on the move in most areas of Southwest, Oklahoma” with areas like Sentinel, Rocky, and Cordell having already taken in wheat.
“Wheat harvest continues to roll along in week 2. While great progress has been made in regions of Southwest Oklahoma, some areas have had light rains over the weekend which has put harvest on hold,” the June 14 report said. “We are seeing lower yields once you get west of Lone Wolf and Cordell, due to more intense drought situations that producers have been dealing with all year.”
As for the quality of the wheat, one Oklahoma farmer, Nocona Cook of Cloud Chief, said the quality has been “really good” so far.
“We started out in a few places near Cloud Chief that didn’t get near as much moisture as some of the farther south wheat,” Cook said. “It wasn’t as good a quality, but when we moved farther south, and we’re down east of Rocky right now, this wheat’s really good.”
Cook said so far he has had anywhere from 20 to 50 bushels per acre with test weights of around 60 pounds. Wheat proteins have been up to almost 14% protein for Cook with most being over 12%.
The Oklahoma Wheat Commission reported that the “overall crop quality [in the Southwest & Central Oklahoma region] continues to be favorable with test weight and yield reports” and that “statewide nothing has been reported below 60 pounds per bushel.
Recent weather conditions such as rainfall have had an impact on start times for harvest as Cook said he began harvesting a week later than he usually does.
According to the Oklahoma Wheat Commission’s harvest report, “light rain showers and high humidity throughout the week have hindered harvest [in the Rocky/Sentinel region] from getting into full swing.”
“[Weather conditions] really haven’t had a big impact. Luckily we got a rain right in there to help things out a little bit, and the wheat was slower maturing, so it didn’t really put us a whole lot behind,” Cook said.
Earlier weather conditions this year such as the drastic low temperatures many parts of Oklahoma and Texas experienced also left its impact on this year’s harvest.
“The freeze hurt some of our wheat or at least some of our stress wheat that was a lot drier. I guess how we draped it was at the right stage when it grew to really hurt it,” Cook said. “We had two or three quarters that the freeze hurt really bad.”
As of Monday, June 14, areas such as Sentinel and Rocky have reported being 20% complete with harvest.
Overall, despite some delays and weather conditions, Cook said that this year’s harvest is looking to be “pretty average” compared to previous years.
“Everything’s looking good, and we’re going to have some really good wheat. I anticipate some of the wheat actually getting better when we get moved around,” Cook said. “I think we’ll have an above-average yield this year compared to the last season.”