The drought and freeze that affected Texas and Oklahoma earlier this year are now taking a toll on Kansas.
Kansas custom harvesters, who normally start their harvest season cutting in Texas and Oklahoma and follow the harvest north, are choosing not to travel south due to the poor crop reports coming in, said Allan Fritz, professor of agronomy. Fritz said the extremely dry winter and spring in Texas along with the severe April freeze in Oklahoma and Sumner County are what caused the crops to wither.
“This will have a negative affect because there will be a loss of revenue,” Fritz said. “But Kansas is still the big wheat state, and harvesters will have a fair opportunity to recover.”
Fritz also said the Kansas harvest looks average this year, between 35 and 40 bushels per acre.
Kevin Dhuyvetter, professor of agricultural economics and co-founder of Custom Harvesters Analysis and Management Program, said he thinks Kansas custom harvesters should start searching for other local crops like corn, milo and soybeans to harvest to try and make up revenue for the losses down south.
“A lot of folks are concerned because their first stop is gone this year,” he said. “It’s very competitive — there are more combines than acres.”
This will be the first year the Kansas State Departments of Agriculture and Commerce won’t be assisting custom harvesters in matching up with farmers, said Joe Monaco, public information officer with the Kansas Department of Commerce. He said because use of technology has increased among farmers and cutters, there is no need for a government match program.
“With the Internet, people are able to track down their own information,” he said. “But the Kansas Wheat Commission is putting up daily crop reports to help them out.”
Though work might be tight this year for custom cutters, Dana Peterson, producer policy specialist for the Kansas Wheat Commission, said she thinks Kansas harvesters will have no problem overcoming the poor year.
“Custom harvesting has been around for decades,” she said. “They seem to have a very good knack for riding out the highs and lows of the business.”
Be the first to comment on this article!