The local wheat harvest keeps plugging along in between rain storms, but the white combine finally reared its ugly head late Monday afternoon.
Yuma, and most of the region, has been receiving rain on a consistent basis since the Memorial Day weekend, but luckily the hail has been minimal. There was a downpour of the nasty frozen stuff in the Anton area in southwest Washington County a few weeks.
It then showed up when a powerful storm whipped through the Yuma area around 5 p.m. Monday. There was some hail included in the early part of the storm in Yuma, which received another six-tenths of an inch.
However, roughly eight miles north and further out the hail really pounded the countryside. Full extent of the damage was now known Tuesday, but the early reports was that there was extensive damage to wheat and corn fields. It also included powerful winds, with at least one incident shown on Facebook of a tree uprooted at a rural home.
“It’s been disenchanting trying to get all this wheat in before the hail gets it,” Lisa Hageman of CHS-Yuma said.
The rains keep slowing things down also as crews cannot get into the fields until the wheat dries down enough.
The CoAgMET climate station at the Irrigation Research Foundation shows 1.11 inches of precipitation from Saturday through Monday, and a total of 1.25 over the first seven days in July. That brings the total precipitation since the Memorial Day weekend to 6.54 inches.
While overall that is great, it has messed a bit with getting the wheat out, though Hageman pointed it also has resulted in better yields than expected just one month ago.
Locally, the winter wheat harvest is expected up to two more weeks or so. The extended forecast for that time frame currently shows relatively-low chances for moisture, and daytime temperatures mostly in 90s.
What has been harvest so far has been encouraging.
John Kennedy with West Plains said the Yuma location hit the 300,000 bushel mark on Monday. The dryland yields have been around 50 to 60 bushel per acre, with great quality featuring test weights averaging 60 pounds, and protein at 12.5 percent.
Hageman reported similar numbers, with test weights 60 or above and protein around the 12-percent mark.
The negative, besides any hail damage, is that the market price continues to remain depressingly low. A series of reasons seem to be playing a role. There are ample supplies in many areas, and trade uncertainties related to the tariffs situation are resulting in lower prices.