Published: June 21, 2008 11:51 pm         

Area wheat farmers battling wet ground, poorer grain quality after rain delays harvest

Two words summed up harvest in the Enid area Saturday: Slow and suffering.

Combines were in the fields again Saturday after the latest siege of wet weather, but area elevator managers agree it is a slow go, and test weights of wheat are falling because of too much moisture.

“It suffered. The test weight is down. They are running from 55 to 58,” said Paul Campbell, location manager for Plains Partners in Hennessey.

To grade No. 1, and collect a higher price, wheat must be at least 60 pounds per bushel, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. Weights at the start of harvest were 60 and above, but that figure has dropped as more rain has fallen.

Elevator operators last week started reporting test weights were falling into the 57- to 58-pound range. No. 2 wheat is 58 pounds per bushel.

But even then officials were optimistic of a good turnout, and Campbell said Saturday it still is too early to make a final prediction on the outcome.

“So few people are done, there is no real way to tell. The yields are better than average but still up in the air. People have to cut around mudholes, leaving wheat in the field,” he said.

Carrier Mill and Elevator Co. manager Lee Red-man was enthusiastic, saying the quality is damaged only slightly and the yield still decent.

“I don’t think the extended rain hurt the quality as much as I thought it would. I believe overall we will finish in the 58-pound range. Fifty-seven or 58 is acceptable quality, not great, but it is marketable. The range is 40 to 60. We cut some 60s early. We are getting a lot of 40s and 50s (now),” he said.

This month started strong, as farmers hit the fields and agriculture experts predicted the area wheat yield would be about average, based on overall history. But based on poor crop yields of the past few years, the 2008 harvest was the most promising in years.

Then the rain came.

“It hasn’t been going too good because of the rain,” said John Swart, area manager for Farmers Grain Co. in Medford. “We haven’t taken in too much wheat since the rain, so we will see what will happen.

“The test weight is hanging in there at 55-59.”

On Saturday, the effects of the weather on farmers and custom crews fighting to get back into the fields were beginning to show.

“The ground is still muddy,” Redman said Saturday afternoon. “The grain is dry, but they are just having trouble getting the combines over the mud.”

Campbell agreed.

“It is dragging out real slow,” he said.

Just how slow depends on the location.

Redman said the Carrier area is about 75 percent done, but Campbell said Hennessey farmers are not that far along.

“We feel we’re not 50 percent done yet. The ground is still real wet,” he said.

“We are just anxious to get harvest completed. We want to get it all cut and under cover so we don’t have to worry about storms,” Campbell said.

National Weather Service forecasts a 30 percent chance of rain tonight, dropping to 20 percent through Wednesday.