The Topeka state journal., 1919-07-26
IT'S A BIC Loss
Kansas Wheat Crop 40 Million
Blu. Under Estimates.
That Is What July Report of
MOhier Shows.
CORN IS LOOKING BETTER
Condition 4.3 Points Over the
June Estimates.
Intensive Heat Has Killed
Many Work Horses.

In just one month the Kansas wheat
crop slumped 7O.217,sOO bushels a loss
of from $50 to 200 million dollars to
wheat growers of the state. The July
crop report by J. c. MohIer. secretary
OF the state board of agriculture, es-
Inmates the wheat yield at 15S, ,999, 200
bushels as against forecasts by 1000
local observers who in June guessed
the crop at 229. .217,000 bushels
The big loss in the wheat situation
has been due to unexpectedly poor
harvest returns, rains, rust, grasshop-
pers and general failure of the grain
to fill The crop promises the second
largest return in the history of the
state-eXceeded only by the so bushel
yield in 1914.
Corn Looks Better.
Corn will apparently yield S7.160. 900
bushels from the 4.35S.000 acres of
growing grain. Conditions are given
at 1917, an increase of 4.3 points over
June estimates.
The oat crop looks like 49,776.00
bushels as against June prediction of
b2,416.s47. The potato crop is esti-
mated at 5.51S.80O bushels.
Rain is badly needed in number
OF counties.
Mohler's report follows:
Report in Detail.
The Kansas State Board Of Agricul-
ture today issued its JG!y crop report,
based on conditions existing OF July
l9, and with special reference to ths
winter wheat situation. 1t says:
Judging by threshing returns and
other indications up to July 10, cores
pondents now place their estimate OF
this years Kansas winter wheat crop
at 15S,999,200 bushels, or an average
yield Of 1871 bushels per acre. as
against their pre-harvest estimate OF
June 81, of "A prospective production
OF 29.217 900 bushels or 1913 bushels
per acre. Altho the decline is keenly
disappointing, the years crop is the
second largest in the states history,
the 1914 output of $50 million bushels
only exceeding 1t.
Never before perhaps have the
growers been so grievously misled by
prospects just preceding harvest as has
been the case this year. The canvass
of June 21 revealed a Uniformly fav-
orable situation. excepting only the
bottom" wheat. according to the
consensus of the boards experienced
correspondents numbering about
1000, or an average of 20 to a county.
These same reporters now say that the
expectations OF June were not realized
principally because the wheat failed to
properly "fill." Various reasons for
this failure are given. chief of which
was the abrupt change from the wet
cool weather that had previously pre-
vailed all spring and summer, to the
extremely high temperatures ten days
or two weeks before harvest. Strength
seems to be lent to this contention,
too. by the fact that wheat in several
of the extreme southeastern counties
that had been mostly out before the
hot weather is exceeding in yield the
pre-harvest estimates, as in Cherokee
Labette, Crawford and Wilson, with
average yields per acre. as now report
ed, of 22. IS, 10. and IT bushels, re-
a-t
of IS, IT, IS and 16 bushels. While a
larger number of reporters ascribe the
failure to fill to hot weather than tc
any other cause, only few less stated
il as their belief the damage was done
by heavy rains washing off the pollen
which resulted in imperfect fertiliza-
ton. Too much rain, wet ground, lodg-
ing, and rust were also contributing
factors, while damage from grasshop-
pers appreciably lowered the acre
yields in Clark, Comanche, Edwards
Finney. Ford, Gray. Haskell. Hodge
man, Kearny. Kiowa, Meade. Seward
and Stevens counties. all in the south
west. In fact these pests created such
havoc in some fields that the wheat
was not harvested, amounting in the
aggregate to as much as per cent ir
Ford county; per cent in Clark,
per cent in Kinney. per cent in Gray
and s per cent in Haskell. for exam.
pie. Nearly every county reports somt
wheat as not worth cutting. mostly
because of too much rain and lodg,
ing, probably amounting altogether 4
4 or 5 per cent of the entire area sown
At the time of this canvass, tkt
harvest was finished in the eastern
half OF the state, and nearing com.
pletion elsewhere, except in fourteen
or fifteen northwestern counties, where
25 to IS per cent of the wheat wa,
yet TO cut. Excluding these counties
threshing is general thruout the state
Sumner county has threshed a larger