Overnight rains have slowed the start of the Kansas winter wheat harvest in south-central Kansas.

Steve Inslee, the manager of the OK Co-op grain elevator in Kiowa, said Monday a few local farmers began hauling in wheat last Thursday.

He says wheat harvest is by not close to being in full swing in the area because much of the wheat is still green and not ready to cut.

The elevator in Kiowa has taken in just 140,000 bushels of wheat during the last four days.

Test weights have been averaging around 59 pounds per bushel. Inslee says wheat quality has been all over the board.

Kiowa got less than a half inch of rain early Monday, far less than the pouring rain that fell across south-central Kansas.