Severe weather including high winds, heavy rain and hail damage has plagued much of the Central and Southern Plains hard red winter wheat crop. Heavy rain has also affected the southern half of the eastern soft red winter wheat areas.

Scott Van Allen, Clearwater, Kansas, told me on June 20 he couldn't give an answer on quality until he was able to harvest again. "Maybe Monday we can start again. Surely will be lower test weight. Took some light hail damage but neighbors south a few miles had major hail. Plants are leaning quite a bit but not flat on the ground. Weed pressure will be a concern soon enough even after herbicide treatment this spring."

The Day 2 Kansas Wheat Harvest Report on June 19 noted Derek Sawyer, who farms in McPherson County, reported, "Tuesday's rain brought the area 5 to 6 inches of rain, up to 10 inches in some places, and 80 mile per hour sustained winds. This took kernels out of the heads in many wheat fields. He estimates they probably lost 25% of the yield potential. Test weights were good but will no doubt decrease with the rain. Some fields are in standing water and may not be able to be harvested. While he should be over halfway done with harvest, Sawyer reported he barely even got started and won't be able to get into even the fields with the least amount of rainfall until the weekend at the earliest. The creek is out of its banks and roads are flooded in the area."

Corbin Catt, Catt & Crew Farms, told me, "While wheat harvest is just beginning in western Kansas, conditions have been too wet for most of Oklahoma and central/eastern Kansas for hard red winter wheat. There have been some reports of wheat sprouting, but only time will reveal the full impact. The soft red winter wheat regions have been quite saturated, leading to significant lodging issues. The heat this week will help tremendously. There are widespread quality concerns for both hard red and soft red winter wheat."

Kansas State University (KSU) noted on their website on June 20 in an agronomy update, "Kansas is no stranger to the wind, but the wheat crop has taken a beating in many counties throughout the state with heavy rains and high winds. Wheat harvest has been quite slow with wet conditions (3% in 2025 compared to 25% at the same time for 2024).

Let's look at some of the quality concerns that may exist:

-- Lodging. KSU reported on their website, "Some fields have portions of lodged wheat while others have been unfortunate enough to be underwater from streams leaving their banks. Lodged wheat that is at least partially lying on the ground will trap humidity, preventing the grain and chaff from drying as quickly as normal. Lodged wheat trapping humidity not only slows harvest with the soil and chaff not drying out, it can also lead to diminished grain quality, especially test weight. Additionally, grain and chaff molds may be a challenge."

-- Sprout Damage. KSU noted, "Poor weather conditions can result in germination and sprouting of wheat kernels before they are able to be harvested (Thomason et al., 2019). Sprouted wheat kernels are not suitable for the flour milling industry and therefore can be priced at a discount. Producers should also be mindful of potential pre-harvest sprouting with excessive moisture around the mature heads."

-- Mold. KSU noted, "With recent rains slowing the progress of wheat harvest, some areas of the state will begin to see sooty molds and grain with a discoloration known as black point. Both of these problems are caused by molds that colonize mature wheat close to harvest. Fusarium head blight (scab) has been reported in some Kansas counties where wet weather was present during and after flowering. This disease can lead to lightweight, damaged, 'scabby' kernels which may contain the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON). DON is sometimes referred to as 'vomitoxin' because it can lead to vomiting and feed refusal in animals and is strictly regulated in finished products destined for human consumption."

-- Low test weight. KSU noted, "Poor growing conditions, high moisture during the growing season, insect damage, and sprout damage can result in low test-weight wheat."

-- Falling number. Michigan State University (MSU) noted on their website, "Frequent rainfall during wheat harvest can cause seed to absorb water -- the initial step in germination. When this occurs in an unharvested wheat crop, also known as preharvest sprout, the physiological makeup of that seed begins to change. A falling number test estimates the amount of preharvest sprout that has occurred in the grain while still in the field."

Sprout damage is one event that causes low falling number, and most mills require 300 to 400 FN (falling number) for flour used for baking and exporters do as well because many of our regular wheat and durum foreign customers use the wheat for milling purposes. Elevators who sell wheat to mills and for export may take hefty discounts from the farmer depending on how out of spec the falling numbers are.

On top of discounts for low FN, all the factors mentioned above will cost the farmer discounts or maybe even rejection of their wheat -- especially if it is toxic.

Don't forget, depending on the discounts, the wheat could turn into feed wheat at which point elevators will compare it to corn and may price it accordingly. As an example, the June 20 close for KCU winter wheat new crop futures is $1.54 lower than the September (CU) new-crop corn futures.

As far as knowing the full extent of the recent storm damage to the wheat crop, and as Scott Van Allen mentioned, we won't know the severity of it until the wheat is harvested and graded.

For more information:

Link to KSU Wheat harvest: Identifying disease problems and setting harvest priorities: https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/….

Link to KSU Managing lodged wheat and harvest challenges after storm damage: https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/….

Link to MSU article: Falling numbers in wheat: What causes it and why am I getting docked: https://www.canr.msu.edu/….

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

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