Kansas

Kansas, often the No 1 wheat state in the nation, will reap its smallest harvest since 1996 due to drought and freeze damage, scouts estimated at the end of the annual wheat tour. The crop was pegged at 260.7 mln bu with an avg yield of 33.2 bu/ac, said Bloomberg, compared to 319.2 mln bu last year with a statewide yield of 38.0 bu/ac. "Output...would be the lowest since 255.2 mln (bu) in 1996." Analysts had expected a crop of 299 mln bu.

Drought intensified in winter wheat states during April, a crucial period for crop development, according to USDA's AginDrought site. Ten pct of winter wheat land is under exceptional drought, the direst rating on a five-point scale of drought conditions, this week, compared to 4 pct at the start of the month.

The annual Kansas wheat tour moved through southwestern and southern Kansas on Wednesday and scouts projected an average yield of 30.8 bu/ac, compared to 37.1 bu/ac last year and the five-year avg of 38.8 bu/ac. The first day of the tour also found drought-reduced yields.

Crop scouts set off today for the annual inspection tour of the winter wheat crop in Kansas, the No 1 grower. The tour provides a timely look at a crop that will be ready for harvest in a few weeks.

The 2014 farm law ended the direct-payment subsidy and made crop insurance the major farm support. For most states, there is little difference in the state's share of the receipts.

Advocates of mandatory labeling of foods made with GMO ingredients say they are not deterred by a U.S. House bill that would keep labeling voluntary and would pre-empt states from enacting labeling laws.

Reps Mike Pompeo of Kansas and GK Butterfield of North Carolina will unveil a bill today to set a federal standard for labeling genetically engineered foods and block states from adopting labeling laws of their own.

Commercial banks across the country reported a dramatic increase in volume this year for short-term agricultural production loans, says the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in its quarterly Agricultural Finance Databook.

Kansas Rep Mike Pompeo will sponsor a bill backed by foodmakers to pre-empt state labeling law on genetically modified food, Politico says.

Half of the U.S. winter wheat crop was in good or excellent condition at the start of the week, a vast improvement from the drought-scarred 2023 crop, said the USDA's Crop Progress report on Monday. The USDA will make its first forecast of the harvest on Friday. Winter wheat usually accounts for three-quarters of all U.S. wheat production.