Annual wheat harvest 'average,' says FVC official

The 2015 wheat harvest began when the first load was delivered to the Kimball elevator July 13. The harvest lasted just short of a 30 days, according to Drew Biesecker from Frenchman Valley Cooperative.

He said the harvests brought in this year were average.

“I believe yields were about average for the year - some areas better, some were worse. The average yield is somewhere between 25 to 30 bushels per acre,” Biesecker said. “We had a very late frost early in the spring while the wheat was actively growing that really affected the bushels per acre in some areas.”

Wheat production and quality can vary from field to field, Biesecker said, and he is unsure which areas were better than others.

Heavy rains early in the season left crops susceptible to many diseases that are capable of damaging the quality of the wheat, Biesecker said, while more rain at harvest time was also a concern.

“Some of these are rust, smut and insect damage,” he said. “With the rain coming at the time when the wheat is ripe and ready to be harvested, the main problem is the effect on the test weight of the wheat.”

Rain and heavy storms are least desirable once harvest begins.

“Elevators and producers alike do not like the afternoon storms. Everyone is just hoping to get harvest done as soon as possible and not lost any of the crop to bad weather,” he said. “Hot and dry days and nights with very little humidity is the best for harvest, the higher the humidity gets the tougher it is to cut the wheat. An afternoon rain can stop the harvest for a couple of days, so we like to see warm, dry weather.”

Hail was another concern. While there was a big area in Banner County that saw quite a bit of hail, the bushels taken in at the elevator were around average, according to Biesecker.

Increased rain during the growing season usually causes a lower protein product, Biesecker said. Stress and a hot, dry season will increase protein, as will a good fertilizer routine.

“Milling companies, making loaves of bread that we all consume, like the wheat to be around 11 to 11.5 protein,” Biesecker said. “We have seen protein range from nine to 14 this year.”

Biesecker and the elevator crew are readying themselves for the upcoming millet harvest, which will begin in early fall before the rush of the corn harvest.