This is day 15 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain, the Kansas Grain & Feed Association and Kansas Wheat.

It appears that Kansas wheat farmers have saved the best wheat for last during the 2009 wheat harvest. Some northwest Kansas farmers are enjoying the best wheat of their farming careers with yields in excess of 90, even 100 bushels per acre.

At the St. Francis Mercantile Equity Exchange, test weights and yields are unbelievable in the second big day of harvest. Although many farmers are thrilled with 100-bushel-per-acre wheat, other areas of Cheyenne County were severely damaged by hail, preventing some producers from enjoying what could have been a banner harvest.

Brian Linin, a Kansas Wheat Commissioner from Goodland, says harvest in Sherman County is probably only 30% complete, but with excellent harvest weather forecasted, the 2009 harvest will be wrapped up by July 15. Test weights and yields are excellent, but the all-important protein level is below average, he reports. KAWG Director Richard Kvasnicka, Winona, finished cutting Wednesday afternoon. This was a better than average harvest for Kvasnicka, with good yields and test weights but protein levels below normal. Much of Logan County is wrapping up harvest. In Russell County, two months ago the wheat crop looked poor. But despite taking in 100,000 bushels less wheat than last year, Agco, Inc. in Russell considers this harvest a success. Farmers report 40 to 50 bushel per acre yields, with good test weights and 11 protein. Area farmers planted fewer acres of wheat in 2008, but officials at Agco believe this fall, planted acreage will increase. Harvest has been finished in the Russell area for several days. Ken Jamieson, manager of the Garden City Co-op, says some irrigated wheat remains to be harvested in the region. So far, the cooperative has taken in some 13.5 million bushels of wheat throughout its trade area. In its southern division, much of the crop was damaged by hail and yielded in the low 30s, although the crop featured a protein count of 12. In the central division, test weighs averaged 61.5 pounds per bushel and yields averaged in the 50s. In the northern division, yields averaged greater than 60 bushels per acre. Protein content in the northern two areas averaged about 11, Jamieson says. Check out the Wheat Harvest Survey for 2009, sponsored by Kansas State University's International Grains Program. Online here, the site features GIS maps with quality reports. The 2009 Harvest Salute to Producers is brought to you by Kansas Wheat in conjunction with sponsors Kansas City Board of Trade, DeBruce Grain and the Kansas Grain & Feed Association.