PAWNEE COUNTY — By Saturday morning, veteran wheat farmer Dallas Hiebert could see the finish line on the 2022 wheat harvest.

“Going in, I thought that I’d be done by now,” said Hiebert, who farms in northwest Pawnee County near Rozel. “By the looks of things, I’m thinking I’ve got about three days left.”

Hiebert is down to his last 170 acres of hard red winter wheat. Going hard at it, he figures about two days, “but I always put in some extra time for contingencies.”

He was geared up and going good at the beginning of last week, but Tuesday’s rain showers cost him a day, then the next day’s drizzly conditions cost him another. A minor breakdown cost him another half day and he’d lost a few acres due to mosaic attributed to the wet conditions earlier in the month.

Otherwise, “things haven’t been going too bad,” he said. He’s been getting about 40 bushels per acre on summer fallow and about 30 bushels on continuous. Protein is good and so is moisture. He’s heard, however, about some stands around Kinsley in Edwards County that were averaging 5-6 bushels due to lack of rain.

Hiebert puts it down to the nature of the wheat farming business. “There’s always a lot of up-downs,” he said. “When yields are up, the price is down; when the yields are down, the price is up. It’s always something,” he noted.

Several farmers in the western part of the county are either finished cutting, or about to be. Yields are wide-ranging, anywhere from 25 bushels to 65; protein numbers are higher due to the late-season moisture and for the most part, disease pressure is down. Marc Pieschl, who farms north of Hiebert close to the Pawnee-Rush County line, has about a day and a half to go. He’s averaged 27-28 bushels on continuous, but also from 45-60 on summer fallow. As far as moisture, it’s plenty dry at 8-10%; some loads are coming in at about 65 pounds test weight with good protein.

Kansas wheat statewide

For the state, hard red harvest was about 40% finished on Thursday, Day 9, reports Julia  Debes for the Kansas Wheat Commission. In the west, the elevator at Ness City took in its first load on June 13 and the area is about three-quarters finished. Coop President Gary Gantz said that it could be an unusually early finish for the area.

“I can’t remember a time when we were finished before the Fourth of July,” he said Thursday. “But we should be wrapped up by then this year.”

Ness City, on the eastern fringe of the state’s portion hard-hit by drought, is posting yields between 15-25 bushels per acre. Wheat planted behind corn is causing harvest problems, because the heads did not reach higher than the remaining corn stubble. Protein will probably average 11.3 to 11.4% but test weights are heavy at 62-63 pounds.

On the county line between Stafford and Reno counties, farmer Randy Fritzemeier was about halfway through wheat harvest before a quarter-inch of rain shut down cutting on Tuesday night, according to an earlier report from the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Yields are disappointing in the low 30s bushels per acre, but the wheat is some of the best quality he has cut with test weights at 61 to 64 pounds per bushel. Despite lower-than-average yields, Fritzemeier was surprised at how well the crop turned out. He had to replant fields due to significant rainfall during planting, but then the weather turned so dry that the windstorm on December 15 filled the house with dirt. This spring brought around 1.5 inches of rain during heading and another 4.5 inches while kernels were filling, helping finish off the crop.

He had planned for a custom-cutting crew to help him finish off the wheat harvest, but with delays from the crew, Fritzemeier said he’ll keep cutting until they arrive.

Farmers climbed back into the combine cabs as soon as field conditions allowed, aided by triple-digit temperatures on Thursday and Friday.