E244: Optimistic Results from the Kansas Wheat Tour

Every year for more than six decades, the Wheat Quality Council has sponsored a Winter Wheat Tour that criss-crosses the state of Kansas to get a mid-season update on what conditions look like in the field and what farmers, millers, and everyone in between might be able to expect from the annual crop. This year was no exception, and DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins is just back from three high impact days on the Southern Plains. Today, Jason will help us dig into the results of the tour, taking us day by day through regional conditions that vary from parched and uneven to world class. We’ll talk about what he saw as far as both pests and disease for the winter crop, and what he thinks the presence or absence of either might mean for final yield figures later this year. We’ll also hear who else was on the tour, and what perspectives those from across the industry shared about this year’s numbers, and how they compare to those of the recent past. Finally, we’ll dive into how the tour figures compare to current USDA expectations, and what still might be on the docket in the season ahead. Then we’ll take a broader view of crop issues that Jason is following as we head out of planting and towards an uncertain summer.