From staff reports Josh Bushong, Oklahoma State University Extension area agronomist specialist, spoke on Oklahoma’s winter wheat crop, harvested acre yield estimates and the total production of OSU Extension and Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association members at the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association’s annual meeting last week.
Wheat crop tour estimates came to 2,647,570 harvested acres, 33.68 bushels per acre, and a total production of 89.161 million b ushels. The estimate from the Oklahoma Grain and Feed Association members came to 2,740,000 ha rvested acres, 37.3 bushels per acre, and a total production of 102.202 million bushels. These estimates represent a moving average.
Some states have struggled with stripe rust, a fungal disease that attacks wheat, but Bushong says Oklahoma’s crop is looking well overall. The crop is turning fast this year, specifically in southern Oklahoma.
Bushong said that wheat has been 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule for most of the s pring.
“I have been very impressed with the wheat out there,” he said. “ Guys put money into it, they top dressed and they protected the flag leaf with the fungicide. For the most part, average to above average on yield acreage was pretty decent.”
Last year, Bushong said producers’ biggest concern was the ability to finish out the wheat crop and have successful yields. This year, it is disease.
Bushong noted that many areas of the state ha ve survived recent storms.
“The nine contributors to the wheat report this year, we came in at a lit tle less than what the Oklahoma Feed and Grain Association membership showed,” Bushong said. “They think we have more acres and a lit tle bit bet ter yield. They were thinking four more bushels than what we were thinking as far as the state yie ld. We were around 33 bushels, and they were thinking maybe 37 bushels. We were thinking a to tal production of almost 90 million b ushels for the state, and they were thinking maybe 102 million b ushels.”
Moisture and mild conditions, Bushong said, will be essen tial in finishing out this year’s wheat crop. The recent rain should help, and the areas that received fungicide should produce well.