Wheat harvest big surprise amidst worsening drought

Berne Tri-Weekly News:

Area farmers, whose concerns are growing daily in the midst of a deepening drought, received a big surprise last week when they discovered one of the best wheat crops in years in the fields.

Jeff Lehman of Lehman Feed Mill noted that most yields exceeded what was anticipated, and in some cases returns were in the 80 and 90 bushel per acre range. Even more important, Lehman said, was the exceeding high quality of the wheat.

"What a surprise," said Lehman. "For one thing, the harvest was two weeks ahead of schedule. It is already pretty much done. It turned out really well; the quality of the grain is just excellent.

"A lot of the wheat was over 60-62 test weight," continued Lehman. "In a good year we are happy with a 59-62 test weight. This was a beautiful surprise to all of us."