Weekend showers fell over much of Kansas, temporarily pre-empting the 2012 Kansas wheat harvest. According to the weekly Crop Report from Kansas Ag Statistics, nearly every district in the state had started combining, with 20% of the Kansas crop already harvested. The crop is rated 40% good to excellent.

Harvest progress had moved north of Beloit in Mitchell County. Alan Tillberg, manager at Farmway Coop's Beloit location says Monday was the first big day of harvest in Mitchell County, as farmers have found good quality wheat to cut. Yields range from 30 to 35 bushels per acre in wheat planted behind sobyeans last fall, to about 45 bushels per acre in continuous wheat fields. Protein averages about 12.5, while test weight is about 61 pounds. Tillberg says the wheat crop improves north and west of Beloit.

Rain stopped harvest for a few days last week for Kansas Wheat Commissioner Scott Van Allen, from Clearwater. Yields are above average across South Central Kansas, Van Allen reports. His own wheat is running between 50 and 65 bushels per acre; test weights 63 pounds per bushel. Van Allen said after rain fell mid-week last week, test weights decreased to about 60 pounds. Another rain Saturday night stopped harvest again over the weekend but it resumed on Monday.

With about 755,000 bushels taken in so far, harvest is 40% complete in the Larned area, according to Laurie Gales, grain accountant at the Pawnee County Coop Association there. Farmers report 40 bushel to the acre yield averages, with test weights running about 55 to 60 pounds per bushel after showers have slowed harvest the last week.

Harvest is about one-third complete at the Farmers Coop Union in Sterling, according to general manager Richard Fisher. Test weights range from 58-62 pounds per bushel among the cooperative's 11 locations throughout Rice and surrounding counties; protein ranges from 12 to 14 on average. Fisher says yields in the Sterling area range from 30 to 50 bushels per acre and overall, it will be an average to slightly better harvest. Farmers could just about wrap up harvest in a week if the weather cooperates.

Near Dodge City, harvest began the tail end of last week just in time to be halted by rain, says Jerald Kemmerer, general manager of Pride Ag Resources. Test weights range from 51 to 61 pounds per bushel, with yields averaging 25 bushels per acre but highly variable. Kemmerer says this year's harvest will be about 30% less than an average year.

The 2012 Harvest Report is brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers and sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, and the Kansas Grain & Feed Association.