Combines Roll North

The combines are now rolling in northwestern Kansas as the 2012 winter wheat harvest spreads to the farthest corners of the state.

The Kansas Grain and Feed Association, in conjunction with other industry groups, reported Tuesday that farmers in Trego County began cutting over the weekend and are finding the crop better than expected. The Frontier Ag elevator in WaKeeney is reporting test weights ranging from 60 to 65 pounds a bushel.

In north-central Kansas, elevator manager Jim Spector at the Farmway Co-op in Clay Center says farmers in Clay County have just begun harvesting in earnest. Spector says the farmers are expecting an above-average harvest, and the elevator will take in more bushels than usual because more wheat acres were planted last fall.