Midweek rain has shut down the wheat harvest across much of Kansas, but here in southeast Kansas where both hard and soft winter wheat thrive, harvest continues.

Richard Felt, who farms near Coffeyville and Liberty tells the Kansas Wheat Commission that his soft red winter wheat crop has been resilient and able to withstand hail and moisture this spring. He says the wheat came on fast early in the growing season but did not maintain that rapid pace as it matured like he thought it would. Felt expects average yields will fall between 75 and 106 bushels per acre with average test weights of 57 to 58 pounds per bushel.

Meanwhile, some quality issues are cropping up in Crawford County. McCune Coop General Manager Russ Smith tells the Kansas Wheat Commission that the quality doesn't seem to be as good as last year's crop when it comes to soft wheat due to the late rain. Early on, the elevator also detected traces of fusarium head blight. Test weights are averaging 58 to 60 pounds per bushel with yields above 100 bushels per acre. Smith says his location has taken in close to 500,000 bushels of soft red winter wheat, and he expects to finish up this week between 600,000 and 700,000 bushels.