This is day 14 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain & Feed Association and Kansas Wheat. The 2009 wheat harvest is entering its last days and although spotty showers fell throughout northern Kansas Monday night, farmers were back in the field on Tuesday.

The crop is 90% harvested in Smith County, according to Linda at the Central Plains Coop in Smith Center. Test weights have averaged 62 pounds per bushel and yields vary from 35 to 60 bushels per acre. At 11.8, protein is below average. The elevator has taken in 1.1 million bushels so far, making this a good harvest.

Mike Brown, past chairman of the Kansas Wheat Commission, has harvested parts of many fields in Thomas County, although moisture has been too high to finish any of them. Brown had 450 acres of wheat hailed out, but fields that have been harvested have ranged from 40 to 60 bushels per acre. Protein levels range from 9 to 12.5 and test weights run from 60 to 64 pounds per bushel.

Harvest is wrapping up at Frontier Ag, Oakley, where more than 900,000 bushels have been taken in so far. Yields are topping 60 bushels per acre in many fields, and test weights average greater than 61 pounds per bushel. However, protein levels are down. Midland Marketing's locations from Hays south are virtually finished with harvest, its locations north of Ellis County should be finished by the end of the week. Farmers throughout the company's 11 locations report better-than-expected yields, due mainly to test weights exceeding 62 pounds per bushel. The company has taken in 7.7 million bushels total as of Monday evening and is on pace for a better-than-average harvest overall. An inch of rain fell near the Herb Mattson farm near Levant on Monday night, keeping farmers out of the field. Mattson has yet to cut any wheat, due to damp conditions. Although hail damaged a lot of wheat in northwest Kansas, Mattson says some farmers are harvesting very good wheat, ranging from 60 to 80 bushels per acre and averaging 62 pounds or more per bushel. Check out the Wheat Harvest Survey for 2009, sponsored by Kansas State University's International Grains Program. Online here, the site features GIS maps with quality reports. The 2009 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain and the Kansas Grain & Feed Association.