As of late June, our yield potential was looking pretty strong. Although we planted late, the cool, wet weather really helped the wheat develop. The higher temperatures that followed elongated jointing and set the crop up nicely for flag leaf development and heading.
It really goes to show how important early-season crop protection and stand establishment can be – because our wheat crop developed strongly early on, it was resilient to less-than-ideal conditions as the season went on.
As we look to harvest mid-August, ideal conditions would be temperatures that hover between 65 degrees at night and 85 degrees during the day, with about an inch of rain per week. North Dakota wheat farmers want to plant early and harvest early – days become shorter in September and the wheat doesn't develop correctly.
This yield won't be as good as last year's, which was our best ever, but it's been a pretty solid season as of now.