Wheat fields finally began to dry out in much of the south central Kansas, allowing many farmers to begin wheat harvest over the weekend.
    Harvest has reached as far north as Salina in central Kansas, yet progress has languished in the eastern and western portions of the state.
    Farmers around Sumner County made their way into the fields this weekend, but most were too muddy to harvest their wheat.
    Eric Watts, assistant general manager at the Farmers Co-Op Grain Association in Wellington, said a few farmers got started this weekend and brought in wheat that was dry, but their fields were too wet to cut.
    “We tried but it wasn’t meant to be,” Watts said.
    Test weights were a little low due to the amount of moisture the area has received, he said. 
    Watts said farmers from all
across the county are working on the same goal, with the Mayfield area seeming the busiest last weekend.
    The area received additional rainfall last night and early this morning, although the forecast for the rest of the week calls for sunny skies.
    The Farmers Co-op Grain Association in Conway Springs, reports harvest has just started, with farmers dodging mudholes to cut wheat on hillsides and sandy soils.
    Test weights in northcentral Sumner County are averaging about 57 pounds per bushel, with yields averaging between 30- and 50-bushels per acre.
    Some farmers are having 60-plus bushel per acre yields.
    In the Conway Springs area, harvest is about 10 percent complete.
    In Pratt County, harvest is in full swing, at the Kanza Co-op Association Pratt location. Test weights have been as high as 63 pounds, although the average is about 59 pounds. Yields are hard to gauge, as cutting is still spotty.
Wheat is being taken at all the cooperative’s locations.
    Bart George at Cargill AgHorizons, Salina, reports about 150,000 bushels of wheat were taken in over the weekend.
Harvesting is spotty due to last week’s rain showers, but George says farmers north of Salina are cutting. Test weights are in the upper 50s and low 60s, with protein ranging from 9-10 percent.
    Kansas Association of Wheat Growers vice president Paul Penner began cutting for a neighbor Saturday. He reports 60-plus bushel yields, with test weights averaging more than 61 pounds per bushel. A hail storm last week has reduced yield potential somewhat. With harvest just getting under way, Penner believes yields in Marion County could be above average.