Written by Shelby Priddle, assistant director of communications, Kansas Wheat
This is day 3 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council.
In south central Kansas, weather has been drier this week, allowing loads to come in more consistently, according to Ted Behring, General Manager at The Farmers Cooperative Equity Company in Barber County.
“We weren’t able to get loads in until later afternoon on Monday and Tuesday, but with the wind blowing yesterday and today, we were able to get started earlier,” said Behring. “Grains are all coming in fairly well; yield was going to be a struggle regardless because of the lack of moisture in the winter and the spring.”
Behring anticipates harvest being complete in their area in seven to 10 days, if rain holds off.
“I predict that we’re going to take half a crop from last year, but we’ll be about 20% off of what our 10-year average is,” said Behring. “I was anticipating better protein levels than what we are seeing, some below average, which is surprising to me with how well farmers fertilized and all the stress on the wheat this year.”
Martin Kerschen, a farmer from Sedgwick County, took his first load in on May 25, Memorial Day, and has been wrapped up with harvest for about a week. With little disease pressure, the biggest concern for Kerschen was the lack of moisture, followed by rain that kept him out of the field to cut when it was time.
“Overall, we are pretty pleased with our wheat. Without good genetics, we would not have had much of anything,” said Kerschen.
A farmer in Harvey County, who asked for his name not to be included, reported a 32-bushel-per-acre field of Kansas Wheat Alliance’s KS Providence from a dry Wednesday window in the weather. He saw test weights of 61 pounds and protein levels at 13.1 percent.
“This wheat has been challenged from day one,” he said. “The only thing that was consistent with this weather was that it has been unpredictable.”
The 2026 Harvest Report is brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association, and the Kansas Cooperative Council. To follow along with harvest updates on X, use #wheatharvest26. Tag us at @kansaswheat on Facebook, Instagram and X to share your harvest story and photos.
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