Local wheat farmer begins harvest after wet spring
Jun. 18—Despite a wet spring and some issues with a fungal crop disease, a local wheat farmer is optimistic that this year's harvest should yield about as much as last year.
Kent Mellendorf has been farming since 1990, and he's been growing soft red winter wheat in a field just a few miles southwest of Dieterich for about 12 years. Mellendorf grows wheat on the same 10 acre property where his father-in-law used to farm years ago, and his daughter, Tracy Heuerman, works as his crop analyst.
Before he's able to harvest it, Mellendorf has to wait until the wheat is dry. To be considered dry, moisture levels in the wheat must be around 13.5%. Mellendorf can check the moisture of his crop on a screen inside his combine.
According to Heuerman, wheat is typically planted in October and harvested in June. After being harvested, much of the wheat from Mellendorf's field is taken to Siemer Milling Company in Teutopolis.
"Like two-thirds of it goes into human consumption, and about 20% goes into animal feed. So almost all of the wheat in this geography, all the good-quality wheat, will end up at Siemer Milling and be used for human consumption," Heuerman said. "They take it, and they mill it back into flour. And a lot of that flour goes into, not exactly like bread flour or the flour you would see in the market, but it goes into pre-made items like cakes, cookies, crackers, pretzels."
The United States Department of Agriculture reported an average yield rate of 83 bushels per acre for winter wheat this year, while the Illinois Wheat Association reported an average yield rate of 104 bushels per acre. Heuerman expects Mellendorf's yield to fall somewhere between these two averages.
"I anticipate most yields falling in the middle. Somewhere in the 90s is where a lot of wheat yields are coming out this year, which is probably down slightly from last year," she said. "We had wet weather in the spring, and wheat typically likes drier weather."
Heuerman said that prior to planting the wheat, fertilizer is added to the soil. During the growing process, nitrogen is applied to the wheat to keep it healthy, and herbicides are used to prevent the growth of weeds.
"We do see a lot of growth regulators added in this part of the world, and that helps keep the wheat short to make it stand," Heuerman said. "We more or less leave it alone throughout the winter."
Additionally, insecticides and fungicides are sometimes used to repel insect pests and prevent the spread of diseases like head scab which Heuerman said was more prevalent this year than it has been in the past.
"It's a Fusarium fungus," she said.
Although some chemicals are used during the growing process, Heuerman said wheat remains one of the few crops grown on a mass scale that isn't genetically modified.
After harvesting his wheat, Mellendorf will plant soy beans in the same field, and alternating between the two crop gives farmers like him another source of income that they can receive during the summer months. Additionally the wheat straw left over after the wheat harvest can be used as bedding for livestock, and it can be added to the field to help improve the soil there.
"We found out over the years that wheat with beans behind it will get you more money than beans by itself because if you do beans by itself, you don't get organic matter, and beans don't seem to produce very well," Mellendorf said.
Heuerman noted that Mellendorf is harvesting his wheat about a week earlier than usual this year which will allow him to get a head start on planting soy beans.
Nick Taylor can be reached at nick.taylor@effinghamdailynews.com or by phone at 618-510-9226 or 217-347-7151 ext. 300132.
