Wheat Virus Affecting 2017 Crop

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) –
If all goes well, this year’s Kansas wheat harvest will begin over the next few days. But people who watch the crop closely say a lot of wheat has something that could mean big losses for farmers.

After two years of bumper crops, western Kansas is being hit hard by the Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus.
The Kansas Wheat Board warned in mid-May some farmers in a six-county area from Garden City to the Kansas-Colorado line could lose 70 percent or more of their crop.

DeWolf also found signs of stem damage to the wheat near Garden City. He wrote that is probably due to the spring snow.

All in all, DeWolf wrote it could be a ‘”complicated harvest.”