The president of U.S. Custom Harvesters says widespread drought is having a significant impact on operations.
“There’s not any comparison for this year compared to years in the past.”
Paul Paplow says he could lose nearly 50 percent of his winter wheat harvest area and conditions are the worst in northern Texas and southern Oklahoma. “As of right now, we have about 20 percent of our normal acres to combine down there. That could also be adjusted out to because the heads are emerging brown so they’re not viable heads and that was because of the late freeze.”
He tells Brownfield the crop is hit or miss in other parts of the Great Plains. “In southern Kansas, there’s still a possibility of a crop. It’s not going to be anything to brag about. As we get into western Kansas, it’s extremely dry out there. If they don’t get moisture here soon, I think a lot of that will get adjust out also. Our job in western Nebraska is nonexistent this year.”
Paplow says those fields have already been tilled up.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor says 68 percent of production is in a classification of drought.
Source - https://www.brownfieldagnews.com
