Kansas Wheat Looking Better Than Expected

A new government report paints a more upbeat forecast for the size of the Kansas winter wheat crop in the wake of plentiful rains this past month.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Wednesday it anticipates this year’s wheat production at 314.5 million bushels in Kansas.

Its updated estimate reflects the impact of timely rains as the Kansas crop finished maturing. The new forecast is well above the 272 million bushels the agency forecast just a month ago.

If realized, this year’s Kansas winter wheat will be a vast improvement over last year’s drought-plagued crop of 246.4 million bushels.

This year’s winter wheat across the nation is now anticipated to bring in 1.51 billion bushels, up 2 percent from last month’s forecast.