Farmers are pleasantly surprised at the wheat crop in Decatur County, according to Kurt Anderson, general manager of the Decatur Coop Assn. in Oberlin. Anderson says area farmers are 25% finished with the harvest so far, and things look better than expected. Just a week into the 2012 harvest, yields average 50 bushels per acre and test weights, 62 pounds.

With about 25% of the area's wheat cut, harvest is in full swing in Decatur County, saysRoger May, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers Director and farmer from Oberlin. May's crop has been better than expected with test weights averaging 62 pounds per bushel and yields ranging from 40 to 70 bushels per acre.

Farmers in Logan County are having trouble finding dry wheat fields after rain showers moved through the area this past weekend. Richard Kvansnicka, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers Director and farmer from Winona, started cutting his crop last Wednesday but is only 15% done. So far test weights have been averaging 62 pounds per bushel with yields around 40 bushels per acre.

Justin Foss, manager of the Frontier Ag elevator in Rexford, says harvest is about 25% complete in Thomas County. Wheat yields are variable, depending upon crop rotation; continuous wheat ranges from 20 to 40 bushels per acre, summer-fallowed wheat is as high as 60 bushels per acre. Test weights average about 61 pounds per bushel. Foss expects the 2012 harvest to be about average overall.

A hailstorm last week took out some several fields in Norton County, but the remaining crop is doing well, according to Susan Gigenbach, with Ag Valley Coop in Norton. Protein averages 11.5, test weights are above 60 pounds and yields range from 40 to 50 bushels per acre. Harvest is just getting geared up, Gigenbach says.

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