Market News & Headlines >> Kansas Wheat Yield Still Uncertain

The average winter wheat yield for the top U.S. producing state of Kansas was estimated on Thursday at 46.1 bushels per acre by scouts on the annual Wheat Quality Council crop tour, but the impact from recent severe weather is still unclear.

This year’s tour yield estimate is 10.8% above the five-year tour average of 41.6 bushels per acre, but 19% below the state’s final 2016 yield of 57.0 bushels as reported by USDA. Much of the crop benefited from ample moisture during the growing season, however it is still unknown to what extent wheat was damaged by snowstorms over the weekend, crop scouts told Reuters News Service. 

The second day of the tour on Wednesday saw scouts unable to evaluate many of the fields in the western third of the state because they were still covered with snow.The tour’s average yield estimate for day two was 46.9 bushels per acre based on 205 stops compared to last year’s second-day average of 49.3 bushels based on 300 stops. The five-year average yield for day two was 41.9 bushels.