WHEAT--Rains boost U.S. HRW planting prospects .  Greg Frost  KANSAS CITY , Mo .  1996-08-28  Above-normal summer rainfall in the U.S. High Plains has produced near-ideal conditions for planting the 1997 hard red winter wheat crop , analysts said Wednesday .  From central Texas north to Kansas , rains throughout July and August have relieved most of the drought conditions that plagued the region earlier this year .  " Our moisture situation is excellent , especially for fall planting of winter wheat , " said Kim Anderson , extension wheat marketing economist at Oklahoma State University .  The irony of the above-average summer rainfall was not lost on High Plains wheat producers , who only three months ago were caught in a drought so severe that old-timers likened conditions to the " Dust Bowl " days of the 1930s .  " It 's definitely a turnabout from this past year , but you know last year we had pretty good moisture about this time of year , and then about October 1 it quit , " said Mark Hodges , executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission . "  Hopefully that 's not going to happen this year . "  According to figures released by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey , an average of 20.19 inches fell across the state between March 1 and August 26 , 1996 .  That 's about 1/2 inch above the average for the same time period , according to Howard Johnson , associate state climatologist at the University of Oklahoma .  He noted that the majority of that 20.19 inches had fallen since July .  As an example of just how dry it was , data showed that between October 1 , 1995 and March 1 , 1996 , the state received an average of only 4.6 inches of rainfall .  In northern Texas , the current rainfall situation was similar to most of Oklahoma , said Rodney Mosier , executive assistant for the Texas Wheat Producers .  " Up here in the Texas Panhandle , we 've had some extremely beneficial rains that came through within the last several days and are really setting us up for ideal conditions for planting wheat , " Mosier said .  But he warned that the situation was not as ideal in central and southern Texas , where mositure levels were still short despite the rains brought by Hurricane Dolly last week .  In Kansas , typically the number one U.S. hard red winter wheat producer , topsoil moisture levels were rated mostly adequate during the week ended Sunday , according to the state 's agricultural statistics service .  In its weekly report released Monday , the service said [START_ENT] Kansas [END_ENT] topsoil moisture was rated eight percent surplus , 77 percent adequate and 15 percent short to very short .  Oklahoma 's Agricultural Statistics Service showed similar conditions , rating topsoil moisture levels as seven percent surplus , 81 percent adequate and 12 percent short to very short .  Data on topsoil moisture ratings were not released by the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service .  -- Greg Frost , 816 561-8671
Kansas