Cash bids for hard red winter wheat stayed flat in the US Plains on Friday as fields took a hit from the latest blast of cold weather to raise concerns about crop damage. Freeze warnings were in effect in areas from Nebraska to Texas, US Department of Agriculture meteorologist Eric Luebehusen said. “The latest cold snap is another blow to winter wheat that has already been harmed by drought and multiple spring freezes,” he said.
Scouts on an annual tour this week said yields and harvested acreage in Kansas, the top wheat-producing state, will be hit hard by drought and recent cold weather that has hindered crop development. Scouts estimated wheat production in Kansas at 313.1 million bushels, down 18 percent from 2012. Yield prospects in Kansas averaged 41.1 bushels per acre, according to the Wheat Quality Council, which led a three-day tour of 570 fields across the state. Kansas City Board of Trade July wheat settled on Thursday at $7.90-3/4 a bushel.
