Wheat harvest follows forecast
Oklahoma’s farmers brought in less wheat this season than they did a year ago in a harvest that went pretty much as had been predicted.
According to data provided by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, the harvest, which wrapped up recently, brought in about 100 million bushels of wheat this season.
While that’s a little bit less than what extension specialists, crop consultants and area agronomists estimated earlier this year, it’s still more than what was forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Mike Schulte, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission, said lower commodity prices for the product impacted the bushels taken in for this year’s crop.
Some of Oklahoma’s wheat producers planted less acres as they opted either to grow a different
crop over the winter, or, just grazed livestock on what they grew, he said.
"While this won't be considered a bumper crop for Oklahoma, we are hopeful that acreage decline across the U.S. and concerns about drought in the European Union will positively impact future commodity prices," Schulte said.
"Hopefully, that will give wheat producers in Oklahoma more incentive to plant next year."
Otherwise, the state's harvest proved to be typical, with its start in southwest Oklahoma in mid-May.
By the Memorial Day holiday, combines were rolling across most areas of central and southern Oklahoma, before wrapping up in other parts of the state in June.
Schulte said that Oklahoma's farmers during harvest season saw large amounts of moisture and cooler temperatures in many areas during the early parts of June. Farmers in some parts of the state lost their crops because of storm damage. However, the quality of 2017's crop has been mostly favorable, Schulte wrote as part of his report.
"While some areas of southwest and central Oklahoma and the Panhandle didn't report as favorable of yields, in many parts of northwest and north central Oklahoma, producers were getting bushel per acre yields anywhere from the mid-40s to mid-60s," he wrote.
Protein amounts on Oklahoma's wheat crop this year were average, Schulte reported.