Warm Indian summer temperatures aren’t keeping local farmers from worrying about this year’s winter wheat crop.
Sumner County produces millions of dollars in wheat a year, said Johnny Roberts, Sumner County Extension clerk, making it the County’s money-making crop.
As farmers around the area scramble to get their cotton, sorgum and soybeans out of the ground, others are working to put wheat back in.
Recent rains have made the task difficult, said local farmer Robert White, but with a warmer weekend, most wheat should be put in the ground quickly.
“The county’s probably not much past half done,” said “It’s just been too wet,” White says if wheat is going in the ground, it needs to be done fairly quickly. The Wellington man said he only has 300 acres planted, with 900 still left to go.
“Ideally, we like to have it in the first half of October, that of course didn’t happen. For crop insurance, it needs to be in by Nov. 5, but there is also a late plant period that goes until the 20th of November, but after that it just gets real iffy,” he said. “It’s just a gamble as to what happens,”
The Climate Prediction Center in Washington D.C. predicts a warmer than usual winter for Kansas, with more precipitation expected. Temperatures are expected to be warmer through February, they said.
“We’re looking at higher temperatures across the plains and the Missouri Valley area,” said Robb Lawson a meterologist at the National  Weather Service in Wichita. Annual snowfall for the area is about 16 inches, he said.
Roberts said this could be good and bad for farmers in the area.
“You don’t want it too warm. One year we had warm temperatures until December and we had more problems with insects..the advantage is it is speeding up the growth of the row crops...for some it will speed up maturity for some for others just take a little bit of a hit on it too. Ideally, the wheat does fine with the cooler weather. This fall’s weather has been ideal with the exception of the rain,” said Roberts.
Roberts said the prediction of warmer weather and more precipitation could effect crops in a number of ways.
“Definetely when we get those eight inch, ten inch rainfalls that it causes a lot of problems but for the most part as long as we keep good moisture throughout the winter, it’s always a plus for the wheat, but there is a fine line between wet and too much,” he said.
The local co-ops are preparing for the winter as they usually do, checking on grain elevators and making sure upkeep maintenence is done on equipment and vehicles, officials said. The hardest part of keeping the co-ops ready for colder temperatures is making sure the diesel fuel kept on hand doesn’t freeze up and thicken.
“We have to put in additives to make sure it doesn’t freeze up, so you do have a problem there usually. If you have an extended long cold spell, you have a chance of the diesel fuel gelling up and thickening and it won’t run. So we do watch that fairly close,” said Curt Guinn of the Farmer’s Grain Co-op.
Propane trucks are also readying for the winter as trucks will be sent out each month to keep those rural customers warm.
“We just go out there and top them off,” said Guinn. “Make sure they are keeping warm and have what they need.”
No one knows what mother nature has in store, but no matter how the winter fares, the money made from yearly wheat crop will affect the entire County.
“It’s a trickle down effect,” said Janice Hellard, Sumner County Economic Development director. “Money made from wheat is spent here in Sumner County, not only on farm equipment and agriculture, but for everyday items so when money isn’t made, it isn’t spent,”
Wellington, Kan. —
