Heavy rains delaying Kansas wheat harvest

Heavy rains and flooding that inundated Kansas in May and early June are slowing down the state’s wheat harvest.

The Wichita Eagle reports the wheat harvest usually starts between early and mid-June and wraps up by mid-July, but the Kansas Wheat Commission says only 1% of the state’s wheat crop was harvested as of Sunday. Typically, about 12% of the crop is harvested by this time, and last year 20% was harvested by mid-June.

The delay comes after the state got 10.26 inches of rain in May, more than double the 30-year average of 4.12 inches. It was the wettest May ever recorded in Kansas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says only 21 percent of Kansas’ wheat crop is mature, compared with almost 60 percent at this time last year.

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