A head start on seed selection will be vital for fall planting

Seed Selection

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We harvest in the high plains region came with many unknowns, including how it would affect

seed for this fall. Mark Lovers with West Bread talked about how the rain alone can make

seed availability difficult for next year.

"With the rains that we've been getting over the last couple weeks, so we've got mature wheat standing in the field. It's getting rained on. That typically leads to test weight issues. So when we talk about poor test weight in an R&D tough environment where we have low and variable yields, what that means for next fall is we're going to have even less seed wheat available because seed growers are going to have to clean that wheat a lot harder to get those smaller kernels out to keep their test weights up above 58 pounds," Lubbers said.

Lubbers recommends farmers don't wait to make decisions about seed selection.

"I think certainly it's going to be very important to reach out to your seed supplier early. The issues that farmers are having, seed suppliers are also having those same issues. And so reaching out early, making your variety selections early because the better varieties are going to sell out quickly just based on limited seed supply," Lubbers said.

It's not just Kansas that has seen these results.

"It's certainly an entire Great Plains region issue. So the heart of winter wheat grown country, the drought in freeze extends all the way from essentially Austin, Texas area all the way up to South Dakota," Lubbers said.