April 29, 2021
Wheat harvest was a few days along in the western Coastal Bend. According to Corpus Christi Grain, yields were average at 25 bushels per acre, test weight was good at 60 pounds per bushel and protein was good at 15%.
May 4, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In the Rolling Plains, some wheat fields were showing signs of rust. In the South Plains, much of the wheat was cut for hay. In the High Plains, winter wheat was in poor to good condition… Dry windy weather caused wheat conditions to decline in some areas. Wheat was being irrigated and should be heading soon. Winter wheat was still growing in North Texas. What little wheat survived should show increased test weights from the rain, but yields should not increase in Far West Texas. Winter wheat was baled for hay. In the West Central region, winter wheat fields were in mostly good condition following rains. Some hail damage was reported. Winter wheat was set back in some spots due to the heavy rains in Southeast Texas. In South Texas, wheat and oat crops continued to mature, and fields were being prepared for harvest.
May 7, 2021
Harvest was wrapping up around Corpus Christi. Harvest was picking up around Dilley and Pearsall, where protein was 12-16% and test weight was 60 pounds per bushel. Uvalde Farmers Coop was expecting the first load over the weekend or Monday.
According to Cargill Houston, local harvest was still 10 days away.
May 9, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 76% of the crop was headed and 5% had been harvested. The crop was rated 8% excellent, 22% good, 39% fair, 23% poor and 8% very poor.
May 11, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In the Rolling Plains, most wheat fields reached the headed stage. Winter wheat was in poor to good condition in the Panhandle, and producers were planting corn, chopping silage and laying wheat and triticale down for hay. In North Texas, winter wheat was doing well, but freeze damage was showing, and English grain aphids were heavy in spots. Winter wheat was headed out for the most part and some early planted wheat was rolled up for hay in the Far West region. In the southwest, wheat harvest should be starting soon, while harvest was underway in South Texas.
May 12, 2021
Wheat harvest was less than halfway done southwest of San Antonio. According to Dilley Feed and Grain, very little dryland wheat was viable, but irrigated wheat had good protein at 14.12%, average test weight of 59.6 pounds and below-average yield of 30 bushels per acre.
A few loads were harvested around Uvalde, but rain delayed further activity.
May 17, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 92% of the crop was headed and 10% had been harvested. The crop was rated 3% excellent, 22% good, 40% fair, 21% poor and 14% very poor.
May 19, 2021
Harvest continued in South Texas and the Coastal Bend, although rain delayed some producers. Based on the first few loads out of Floresville, protein was good at 14% – plus, test weights were average, with the lowest coming in at 58.3 pounds, and moisture was low. Harvest was expected to pick back up around Memorial Day.
Southern Commodities in Uvalde reported that many acres were hayed due to lack of quality. What was cut had good protein at 15-16%, but low test weight at 54 pounds. Harvest was nearly wrapped up.
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, winter wheat and oats that suffered freeze damage filled well and most winter wheat turned color and was maturing rapidly. Wheat harvest started in some areas of the Rolling Plains. Winter wheat condition was poor to good in the Panhandle. In Southwest Texas, wheat harvest should be starting soon. Wheat harvest and peanut planting were delayed by rain in some areas of South Texas, but wheat and oat harvest continued in other areas.
May 24, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 95% of the crop was headed and 12% had been harvested. The crop was rated 2% excellent, 23% good, 41% fair, 22% poor and 12% very poor.
May 26, 2021
Harvest activity slowed due to moisture. Many producers were cutting for hay or silage due to local forage and feed shortages. Some sprout damage was reported in Central Texas.
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, wheat and oats were mature and combining should begin as soon as fields dry enough. Conditions continued to be soggy with storms and rain showers, but some hail damage to crops, including wheat, was reported in the Rolling Plains. Rainfall improved pasture conditions and enhanced wheat test weight potential. Wheat was being grazed by cattle in some areas. In the Panhandle, winter wheat was in poor to good condition and heading. Winter wheat was behind schedule but beginning to turn in North Texas. In the far west, winter wheat was still being harvested or used as a cover crop. In the southwest, moisture levels delayed the wheat harvest a bit. Wheat harvest was halted by rains in South Texas.
May 28, 2021
Freeze damage continued to show up in the High Plains. Many areas of the state were considered one week to 10 days behind schedule. The cool, wet weather was helpful for kernel development and preventing the spread of stripe and leaf rust, but there were concerns about bacterial diseases.
June 1, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 18% had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 24%. The crop was rated 2% excellent, 21% good, 41% fair, 23% poor and 13% very poor.
June 2, 2021
Elevators were starting to test for sprout damage. Incoming loads were not severe, but they were preparing for higher severity as harvest continued. Test weights were good at 58-60 pounds per bushel. Some producers were cutting soft red winter wheat.
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, wheat harvest should be underway but was severely delayed by rain. Wheat plants were starting to lodge in fields. Wheat conditions continued to decline due to excess rainfall causing head sprouting and smut/black heads in the Rolling Plains. In the Coastal Bend, wheat was ready, but harvest was delayed due to wet fields. Wheat head shattering was expected under present weather conditions. Winter wheat conditions were poor to good in the Panhandle. In North Texas, winter wheat was turning color, and producers needed some dry days to let wheat fields dry for harvest. Wheat harvest was delayed in some areas due to wet weather in the southwest. Wheat harvest was almost complete in South Texas.
June 4, 2021
According to Cargill Houston, harvest was moving along in south central and southeast Texas, although much slower than usual. Test weights were somewhat low at 55-60 pounds per bushel. Protein was varied at 10-18%, but most loads were over 12%. Sprout damage was not severe.
Wheat streak mosaic virus was present in the High Plains. Harvest was likely 10 days to two weeks away.
June 7, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 20% had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 40%. The crop was rated 3% excellent, 26% good, 42% fair, 21% poor and 8% very poor.
June 8, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: Winter wheat and oats were mostly too wet to harvest in Central Texas. In the Rolling Plains, producers were about to start the wheat harvest. Wheat and oats were headed out and in poor shape for grazing, and excess rains have producers concerned about timely harvests to make way for hay production. Wheat was past time for harvest and shattering was expected in the Coastal Bend. Winter wheat, pasture and rangeland conditions were fair to excellent. In North Texas, moisture levels were making it challenging to access fields for unharvested wheat, which was becoming a big concern due to soil saturation. Wheat harvest continued to be stalled due to wet conditions but was expected to resume in the coming days in the west central region. In the southwest, wheat and hay harvests were delayed due to wet weather. Unharvested wheat was sprouting and won’t be suitable to harvest in some areas. In South Texas, wheat and oat harvest was completed in most areas, and in good condition in areas awaiting harvest.
June 9, 2021
According to Attebury Grain, harvest was still progressing somewhat slowly south of Fort Worth. Some sprout damage was reported, but did not exceed 6%, with most cases within 2-3%. Test weights were somewhat low at 56-58 pounds per bushel. Harvest began in the Wichita Falls area, with protein average at 11%, good test weights and good yields. Some producers saw 40-50 bushels per acre. Harvest was also starting south of Lubbock.
June 11, 2021
Harvest progressed to 25% complete statewide. According to the NASS June Crop Production report, Texas wheat production was estimated at 64.6 million bushels.
June 14, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 30% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 55%. The crop was rated 2% excellent, 23% good, 46% fair, 22% poor and 7% very poor.
June 15, 2021
Severe sprout damage was affecting producers in the New Braunfels/Waco area. Some cases were as bad as 19%, with a test weight of 49 pounds per bushel. However, outside of that area, sprout was either slight or nonexistent. In the Rolling Plains, test weights were good, yields were above average at 40-50 bushels per acre, and protein was average at 10.5%, although some producers were seeing up to 12.5-13%. There was some harvest activity south of Lubbock and so far, proteins were variable. Soft red winter wheat producers had started harvest east of Dallas. Yields were good but test weights were somewhat low. In the Panhandle, producers expected to start harvesting next week.
June 16, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, fields were starting to dry enough to allow winter wheat and oat harvests. Conditions of both crops were remarkably good considering the record amount of rainfall received over the past three weeks. In the Rolling Plains, wheat harvest was ramping up in areas dry enough to access fields. Producers in Wilbarger County reported 30-90 bushel-per-acre yields of wheat. Wheat was maturing quickly due to heat and wind in the Panhandle. Higher temperatures and sunshine allowed producers in some areas to harvest wheat and oat fields in North Texas. In the west central region, some producers harvested wheat, but moisture content remained high. Kinney County in South Texas reported that winter wheat was nearing harvest with average to better yields expected.
June 18, 2021
Producers started cutting in the southern High Plains and were expected to move north over the weekend. Plains Grains, Inc. received their first samples from Texas and were expected to have quality data next week.
June 20, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 58% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 68%. The crop was rated 4% excellent, 20% good, 44% fair, 22% poor and 10% very poor.
June 22, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, growers were reporting declining wheat grain quality following weeks of wet and humid conditions. Low levels of sprouting were widely observed which degrades quality and marketability. In the Rolling Plains, multiple rainfall events over the past six weeks caused wheat conditions to decline as farmers were unable to access fields for harvest. Wheat harvest was complete in some areas with reports of 25 bushels per acre up to 100-plus bushels per acre. Contract harvesters left some areas due to wet conditions leaving most wheat acreage for local harvesters to complete. In the Panhandle, wheat harvest was underway, and hot, dry conditions were helping. Temperatures were in the low- to mid-90s in North Texas. Those temperatures and 10-12 mph winds dried the soil enough for some wheat and hay harvesting. Producers were busy trying to get the late first cutting out of fields. In the west central region, drier conditions allowed wheat harvest and cotton planting to resume. Kinney County reported wheat fields were harvested with average to slightly above-average yields in the southwest.
June 23, 2021
Harvest was in full swing across the state, as producers in South and Central Texas finally had the opportunity to get in the field. Soft red winter wheat had low test weights. In the Northern Low Plains, yields were above-average at 50+ bushels per acre, protein was average at 10% and test weights were good at 60-61 pounds per bushel. In the High Plains, yields were good, with dryland wheat making between 35-60 bushels per acre and irrigated wheat having the potential to make over 85 bushels per acre. Protein was highly variable at 9-14%. Test weights were good.
June 28, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 75% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 82%.
June 30, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: Winter wheat harvest was finally nearing completion in Central Texas. Unfortunately, the crop was weathered somewhat and will likely be downgraded. In the Rolling Plains, wheat harvest was still way behind with plenty of wet spots in fields, downed wheat and weed issues. Winter wheat and oat harvests continued in the Panhandle. In North Texas, the consistent heat allowed for good harvesting conditions for wheat and oats. Wheat harvest was wrapping up, and hay cutting and baling continued in the west central region. In the southwest, Travis County reported that wheat harvest was progressing slower than expected.
July 2, 2021
Producers in the Blacklands were finishing up. Soft red winter wheat yields were good, but test weights were low at 54-56 pounds. Rain delayed harvest in the Low Plains, but yields were good so far. The High Plains also received rain, which slowed progress. Proteins were highly varied, test weights were good at 58-61 pounds per bushel and yields were good. Harvest was between 60-75% complete in the Panhandle.
July 6, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 85% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 91%.
July 7, 2021
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report: In Central Texas, wheat was harvested, but quality and yields were disappointing. In the Rolling Plains, more rain, 2-8 inches in areas, put… wheat harvest even further behind. The remaining wheat looked poor. Wheat producers reported below-average yields of 35-40 bushels per acre. Winter wheat and oat harvests continued in the Panhandle. In North Texas, the last wheat harvest was delayed because of wet fields. Producers were busy harvesting wheat in the west central region. Some producers completed wheat harvest with fair yields reported, but many producers were expressing disappointment with 20 bushels per acre on dryland and 30 bushels per acres on some irrigated fields.
July 9, 2021
Texas wheat harvest progressed to 92% complete, slowed by rainfall in some areas. Samples from Plains Grains, Inc., showed an average test weight of 62 pounds in the Low Plains, 61 pounds in the Rolling Plains, 60 pounds in the northwest Blacklands and 61 pounds in the Panhandle. Samples showed average protein of 12.6% in the Low Plains, 10.4% in the Rolling Plains and northern Blacklands and between 11.3%-12.2% in the High Plains. Generally, dockage was low in those areas.
July 12, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 94% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 96%.
July 16, 2021
Final reports from the northern Panhandle were good, with irrigated wheat yields between 70-100 bushels per acre. Test weights dropped in some areas due to moisture, but overall were 58-60 pounds per bushel. Protein was still variable, with the High Plains region averaging over 12%.
July 19, 2021
According to the NASS Crop Progress and Condition Report, 99% of the crop had been harvested, compared to a five-year average of 99%.
