By Shelby Shank
Field Editor

Wheat harvest is underway across the Lone Star State, but rain has slowed harvest progress for some farmers like Lindsay Kimbrell.

Kimbrell, who farms with her husband Todd in Itasca, began harvesting wheat mid-May before several days of rainfall.

“Harvest has been quite challenging. It started off fine, and then it started raining and hasn’t stopped,” Kimbrell said. “There’s a ton of wheat left still in the fields. There are a few people who have been able to get their wheat out, but some haven’t.”

Some farmers are adding tracks to their combines to get into fields but avoiding wet spots and low areas.

Fortunately, the Kimbrells were able to get some of their wheat out before the rain, but not near enough.

“The rain has definitely pushed everything back. Our combines have just been sitting, ready for harvest,” Kimbrell said.

Recent rains also impacted decisions the Kimbrell’s have to make about planting cotton and finding alternate solutions.

“We have some in the ground, but not what we had planned,” she said. “Now, a lot of us are looking at maybe plan C or plan B. Some of us are at plan F at this moment, but it’s just another challenge that everybody will overcome.”

The Kimbrells have looked into planting soybeans this year as an alternative to cotton.

“A lot of people have been telling us if you can’t get your cotton in, then try to go to soybeans. Planting it later in the year, maybe it won’t get so hot on them,” Kimbrell said. “It’s better than having nothing out there.”

On top of wet conditions, the Kimbrells and other farmers have experienced hail damage in their area, knocking some of their wheat crop in the process.

“The hail was pretty segregated of where it went. Luckily, it wasn’t completely widespread, but there was a lot of wheat that got hailed on,” Kimbrell said. “So, that was another challenge.”

Despite those challenges, Kimbrell said they are optimistic for the rest of harvest.

“It’s just one of those things where you just have faith that everything will work out and the plans may not be what you had, but it’ll work out,” Kimbrell said. “Not every year is going to be great, and there’s always going to be challenges in every year, but just have faith.”

There were a few rain free days in mid-June, and the forecast for Central Texas shows low rain chances through the week.

“Looking at the forecast, it looks like the rain has kind of dwindled down a little bit, and we’ll be able to get the wheat out as long as the rain stays away,” Kimbrell said. “All we need is just maybe three or four days of sunshine and time for the wheat to dry.”

The Texas Wheat Producers Association is providing updates on wheat harvest progress. Click here to find that information.