The Sumner County Wheat Plot Tour will be held at two locations again this year.
    The first stop will be Thursday, May 15, at 6 p.m. on Max Kolarik’s Farm located 6 miles west of Caldwell at the intersection of West 180th St. South and South Dixon Road. The second stop will be at 8 a.m. Friday morning, May 16 at Gary Wolke’s Farm located 3.5 miles west of Anson Road on West 40th Avenue North.
    K-State Research and Extension Specialists Allan Fritz, Eric De Wolf, and Doug Shoup, along with Industry Representatives will be on hand to discuss this year’s wheat crop and answer questions.
    Sumner County Extension Agent Johnny Roberts said this year’s wheat tour will show the good, the bad, and unfortunately, the ugly.
    “You could just flip a coin going from one to the next,” he said.
    Roberts said while there is some good potential out there, some fields have already seen troubles from weak stalks, disease, a harsh winter, or too much volunteer wheat from last year.
    “Unfortunately last year is still with us,” Roberts said.  “There’s so much that didn’t get harvested and has volunteered itself this year, in places growing taller than the new crop, causing the younger wheat not to emerge.”
    Roberts said wheat also has nine lives — or will have to in order to survive the long months before harvest.
    On the up side, Roberts said the tour will also show newer varieties of wheat as well as some that will be released in the next year or two.For more information regarding the tour, call the Extension Office at 620-326-7477, or you can also check it out online at www.sumner.ksu.edu.