Kansas wheat yields drop to 2 bushels March heat climbs
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- Merrill Nielsen of Kansas will terminate his wheat crop after an insurance adjuster projected a yield of just two bushels per acre, far below the usual 40‑50 bushels.
- USDA's weekly crop condition report rated 44% of Kansas and 49% of Oklahoma wheat as very poor to poor, matching the drought‑year levels of 2023.
- Shel Winkley of Climate Central reported March 2025‑2026 temperatures 10‑11°F above normal, making it the third‑warmest March on record for Kansas and the warmest for Oklahoma.
- Romulo Lollato, a Kansas State University professor, expects other north‑central Kansas wheat producers may also decide to forfeit their crops, following Nielsen’s decision.
- Great Plains wheat growers, who plant hard red winter wheat in the fall, faced unprecedented stress from volatile winter‑to‑spring temperature swings, leading to historically poor crop conditions.
Why it matters: Kansas wheat farmers face near‑total loss, with yields slashed to 2 bushels per acre and almost half the region’s wheat rated poor, tightening supply and driving up U.S. wheat prices for bakers and food manufacturers.
