The annual Wheat Quality Council hard red spring wheat and durum tour kicks off in Fargo, North Dakota, on Monday, July 22. Tour participants will include wheat organizations, universities, grain companies, millers, bakers and other end users, along with media and government employees.
Participants will head to North Dakota State University's Agronomy Seed Farm outside Casselton on Monday for supper and training on how to calculate yield estimates and also how to identify pests and diseases.
On Tuesday, July 23, they hit the road traveling from Fargo to Bismarck along eight predetermined routes that are followed year after year. While most of the routes stay in North Dakota, one route on Tuesday will travel through the northernmost tier of counties in South Dakota. On Thursday, two routes will venture into western Minnesota.
Executive Vice President at Wheat Quality Council Dave Green noted this is the first time in a long time the tour will include field stops in South Dakota. "Jon Kleinjan, the new executive director of the South Dakota Wheat Commission, wanted to come on the tour and be a part of it." On Wednesday, July 24, the participants assess wheat along routes from Bismarck to Devils Lake before making their way back to Fargo on Thursday when the tour concludes.
"Everybody's going out with the attitude that it's a big crop," Green said. "So, you shift from worrying about whether the field is going to yield 60, 65 or 70 bushels per acre and you spend more time looking for problems. Are there diseases that will make a difference to flour millers and bakers? Is there scab (Fusarium head blight) present that could knock the top off of this yield? We'll spend more of the time actually looking at the plant, because it's exactly the right time to be looking for these diseases."
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Green also noted the tone of the tour changes when growing conditions have been good. "In a drought year, the tour takes on a natural kind of quietness and respectfulness because you're looking at farmers' livelihood and you understand what's at stake for them," he said. "But when it's a high-yielding crop and everything looks good, particularly when it looks good nearly across the board, everything's a little more upbeat. You get to see the true bounty of the earth. It's just more invigorating."
Market Development & Research Manager Erica Olson from the North Dakota Wheat Commission, told DTN, "Planting of these crops actually started a bit earlier than last year and average, but delays due to cold, wet conditions spread out the planting dates. While some areas started out dry, almost the whole state has received adequate-to-surplus moisture this growing season. Crop development is spread out due to the planting dates but is overall near average.
"There was no hot weather this year to push along crop development, which is good. The wet conditions did cause drown-out and some replanting in eastern and some central areas. The cooler than normal temperatures promoted crop development and almost the entire crop looks great with good yield potential. Crop condition ratings the whole season have been high and significantly better than last year. USDA has forecast record yields of 56 bushels per acre (bpa) for hard red spring wheat and 46 bpa for durum. The wet conditions have increased disease pressure and while producers have been vigilant in monitoring and applying fungicides, the impacts on yield and quality are unknown. Hopefully it will be minimal, but only time will tell. There have been some strong storms lately and high winds, along with hail have damaged some crops, but this is fairly isolated."
Tim Dufault, Crookston, Minnesota, told DTN the spring wheat crop in his area looks very good. "All season long we have had cooler than normal temperatures and well above average rain fall. I have had 14.5 inches of rain since fieldwork started in April. Our area gets about 22 inches annually. With all the rain, planting of all crops got stretched out. Wheat in my neighborhood was seeded from the second week of April through the second week of May. Grain fill should be very good. We are having cooler than normal temperatures here in July. I have just seen the first few heads of wheat with scab and I had applied fungicide to the crop earlier. I have also heard reports of scab in North Dakota and Southern Minnesota."
Kim Saueressig, McClusky, North Dakota, told DTN, "We've had even better moisture than what we had last year at this time and yields last year were really good. I guess the only holdback with all of the moisture is that timing has been pushed back. Small grains are probably right on track. Wheat, durum, canola look fantastic and should have enough moisture to take it to the finish line. Soybeans, dry beans and corn have taken their sweet time, but with the moisture and finally some good warmth over the last couple of weeks, they are finally starting to catch up.
"Fungicide is being put down on both wheat and durum. Haven't seen much yet as far as disease. Timing on fungicide application has been a little tricky just because of the number of delays and the length of delays during seeding season. I'd say harvest is probably still 3 to 4 weeks out, probably looking at mid-August. Looking for a bountiful harvest, and hopefully a little bump in prices!"
Olson concluded, saying the durum and spring wheat crops look great with some minimal damage from wet conditions, winds and hail. "Producers are very optimistic about yield potential, but the big unknown is disease pressure and any impacts that may end up having on yield and/or quality. A downside right now is the less-than-ideal prices."
DTN will report daily on tour results and those stories can be found on www.dtnpf.com and on social platform X at @MaryCKenn and @dtnpf.
DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins contributed to this article.
Mary Kennedy can be reached at Mary.Kennedy@dtn.com
Follow her on social platform X @MaryCKenn
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