'Two weeks ahead': Early wheat harvest gives Ohio farmers a leg up on the rest of the year

Ohio's farmers are benefiting from a pleasant surprise.

Winter wheat, the state's fourth-most-profitable cash crop, was ready for harvest the third week of June.

Recent dry spells have allowed farmers to reap, thresh and winnow earlier than normal, according to Sam Boyce of the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association.

"We are moving along very quickly," Boyce said. "Most of our wheat is about two weeks ahead of schedule."

Farmers across the Buckeye State have already harvested 17% of this year's wheat, according to the latest USDA crop progress report.

That's well ahead of the 1% that had been harvested by the end of June each of the last five years.

Ohio's field crops were valued at $7.3 billion in 2023

Ohio's wheat crop brought in $335 million last year, according to the USDA's 2023 crop values summary.

The combined value of all the state's field crops in 2023 was $7.3 billion, the report stated.

The state's most valuable cash crop was soybeans at $3.5 billion, followed by corn at $3.1 billion.

Hay and sileage combined for a value of $427 million.

After wheat, oats are Ohio's fifth cash crop. Last year's statewide oat harvest brought in $5.7 million.

'A bigger and stronger root system'

Ohio's wheat was ready for harvesting by late June this year because of a mild winter 2023-24.

Wheat is planted each autumn in late September and early October.

"Then by November, December, we get cold and the plants will pretty well slow down," Boyce said.

Once the ground temperatures are consistently below 50 degrees, winter wheat plants will harden off and go into dormancy.

During a typical winter, the wheat remains dormant for several months.

This year, though, the plants had several days of warmth that allowed them to do some growing while still technically staying dormant.

"The plant was not necessarily growing above ground, but it was continuing to grow underneath the ground and build the root system," Boyce said. "You know, a bigger and stronger root system, which allows the plant to come out of dormancy a lot easier."

'A good push to get get those beans in the ground'

By the end of March this year, Buckeye wheat plants were ready to grow at a breathtaking rate.

Thanks to prime weather the rest of spring, the wheat crop made it through its reproductive stage equally as well.

"It's going to be an early year on wheat harvest," Boyce said.

Finishing the wheat harvest two weeks earlier than expected this summer will allow many Ohio farmers to move on to new projects sooner than planned.

"They can get some tile put in and and address some drainage issues that they've got going on," Boyce said. "It will take some stress off."

Then those farmers can plant late soybeans, known as second-crop soybeans, ahead of schedule — two weeks of extra growth will increase yields across those acres.

"I think we're going to see a good push to get get those beans in the ground in front of the rain," Boyce said. "Maybe we’ll get a successful second crop."

ztuggle@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Winter wheat harvest two weeks ahead of schedule in Ohio this summer