Published: May 26, 2007 12:08 am         

High hopes for harvest

This year’s wheat crop may have to overcome some damage and difficulties from previous months, but most experts are in agreement it will exceed last summer’s scorched crop.

“I don’t think we’ll know until it’s in the bin,” said Lew Meibergen, president of Johnston Enterprises, of this year’s harvest. “Last year was a wreck. We’re expecting better.”

Harvest could begin as early as next week, according to co-op managers in the southern part of the area.

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agri-cultural Statistics Service forecasts Oklahoma wheat harvest to total 161 million bushels, up 97 percent from last year’s 81.6 million bushels.

The average yield is forecast to be 35 bushels an acre, up 11 bushels from 2006.

Meibergen said he expected this year’s harvest to be a long one.

“Some has started to turn, and some is as green a gourd,” he said. “It has a long tail to it.”

Joe Royster, general manager of Farmer’s Co-op Trading Co., said he did not think this year’s harvest would exceed the northwest Oklahoma average.

“It’s real confusing,” he said. “We planted wheat in the dust. It got froze. It’s been hit by disease and a wind storm.

“It won’t beat northwest Oklahoma’s average.”

Royster said there likely will be a range of yields, from around 20 bushels an acre to the 40s, but it still is too early to tell for sure.

Aside from Mother Nature, Royster said another problem encountered by farmers was production costs.

“The cost of production is tremendous,” he said, citing high fuel and fertilizer costs.

“I think there’ll be some field damage from loss due to diseases, some worm damage and insect damage,” said Paul Campbell. Plains Partners Co-Op location manager.

“I expect it to be better than last year,” he said. “Last year was flop in most areas.”

Grain merchandiser Jake Brodbeck, of ADM Grain Co., expressed some optimism for this year’s harvest.

“I think the wheat in Oklahoma is really good,” he said. “We are kind of anxious to get things going.”

A late freeze likely caused some damage to the crop, according to Tim Bartram, executive director of Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association.

He said he expected about 10 percent of the state’s wheat crop suffered damage from the freeze in early April.

If Oklahoma’s harvest hits 161 million bushels, it will be one of the best crops in the last eight years.

According to Oklahoma Agricultural Statistics 2006, the wheat crop since 2000 has been 142.8 million bushels in 2000; 122.1 million in 2001; 103.6 million in 2002; 179.4 million in 2003; 164.5 million in 2004; and 128 million in 2005.