Harvest over in most of Marion County
After an on-again, off-again harvest, most area farmers were able to put the combines away before another inch or more of rain fell Sunday evening. Some fields in the Burdick and Peabody areas have yet to be harvested.
According to area elevator managers, the wheat maintained a decent test weight despite recent rains.
Mike Thomas, manager at Cooperative Grain and Supply in Marion, reported the elevator will take in about 500,000 bushels after the few remaining acres of wheat are harvested. That is a four-year average.
He said previous rains brought the test weight down somewhat, to 58-59 pounds per bushel, compared to 60 pounds at full weight and 61-63 pounds before the rain.
He speculated the grain was able to maintain its weight because it may not have been quite ripe when harvest started.
"I was pleased with the crop," Thomas said. "The yield was a little higher than I expected." He received reports of yields from 25-64 bushels per acre.
Chris Bielefeld, Mid-Kansas Co-op manager at Peabody, said his elevator took in a little less than last year but receipts were comparable to the five-year average.
He said 50 bushels per acre yields were common, and some 60 bushel yields were reported.
Agri-Producers, Inc., manager Stan Utting of Tampa said the harvest was "not too bad." Test weights remained relatively good. He said the cooperative reached its five-year average of 3.2 million bushels. Yields ranged from 32 to 68 bushels per acre.
