About 25 percent of the winter wheat is in the silo in North and South Carolina, the harvest in the Southern Plains is off to a slower start than usual. Harvest is more challenging because of persistent wet weather and earlier drought conditions in the south that are impacting the pace. Paul Paplow of Paplow Custom Harvesting talked about their start to the harvest

“We’ve got started with cutting about a day and a half in Wichita Falls, Texas, so far, and so I just got two machines sitting down there, and we got eight machines up by the Kansas-Oklahoma line waiting to get started up here.”

They typically start each harvest season in Texas.

“We typically start with everything in Wichita Falls, Texas. A lot of our acres were adjusted out down there this year because of the early drought, so right now, we’re getting a little bit of a slower start. So, we’re starting Wichita Falls. We got some stuff in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, to do, which the machines in Wichita Falls will go to. From there, we usually come up to the Kansas-Oklahoma line in the Kiowa and Anthony area. So, we’re starting a little bit later this year than normal just because of the crop failure down south.”

He has a lot of work to do and needs to push north as soon as possible.

“I am kind of concerned because I was told that Montana is about 10 days to two weeks ahead of schedule or normal. So, we’re gonna have a lot of acres get over here this next month to make it to Montana on time.”

Paplow talks about his impressions of this year’s wheat crop.

“What they’ve done in Wichita Falls so far has been around 25-to-30-bushel wheat, which is probably a pretty fair crop for them. Up here in this area, and I’d say anywhere like Kingfisher on out, the crop looks extremely good. I’d say probably better than in the last 10 years. So, I think if we were able to get to the crop, I think it’s gonna be a nice crop.”