Web posted
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Prospects bleak for wheat crop
By FOSS FARRAR
Traveler Staff Writer
Prospects aren't good for this year's wheat crop in Cowley and Sumner Counties, a local co-op manager said today.
"Since the freeze we had in early April, it's been one calamity after another," said Ed Crittenden, feed mill manager of the Two Rivers Consumers Co-op Association in Arkansas City.
Crittenden was reacting to the latest Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service report issued Monday.
According to the report, 36 percent of the wheat has turned color from green to amber. That is less than half of the 75 percent at this time last year, and below the 58 percent five-year average.
Wheat condition was rated 15 percent very poor, 21 percent poor, 32 percent fair, 25 percent good and 8 percent excellent.
Crittenden said a combination of factors has contributed to downgraded wheat conditions this year -- Armyworm infestation, strong winds, heavy rain.
"What looked like excellent prospects on April 1 has turned into a disastrous situation," Crittenden said.
He added that he didn't know how widespread the downgraded conditions are, but estimates perhaps a 50-mile to 100-mile radius from Arkansas City.
"I saw a farmer from Ellis on TV with beautiful wheat, but Ellis is a long way away," he said.
"I've been to Oklahoma City, and I know conditions in Oklahoma City are bad. A lot of wheat is down to the ground and that's not a good thing."
Crittenden said that excessive rains have caused crop to drown in fields in this area. There is no grain fill in the heads, he said.
What do farmers do?
"Hopefully they have insurance to help pay for (losses)," he said.
The harvest usually begins around this time but the cool and wet weather has slowed the maturing of the crop.
"Prospects for yield in Sumner and Cowley counties are dismal," he said. "It will be a less than average yield crop, no question."
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