Oklahoma's wheat growers are taking advantage of the weather, so far

Bob Howard raises cattle and grows wheat in Jackson County, and so far, Howard is happy with the weather.

And he's got something to look forward to.

His crop he planted in 2017 generated an 11-bushel-per-acre yield, and Howard said this year is looking much better.

“I'm shooting for 40 bushels this time,” he said. “My average is about 35, plus.

"It's been a long time since we've gone into the fall with this much subsoil moisture," Howard said.

"We've had an abundance of rain (in the past two months), so we're in good shape. We're going to get some wheat up and it's going to grow.”

Howard farms in the shadow of the Navajo Mountains, an area that was underwater millions of years ago. The buildup of sediment created rich farm land.

Wheat grower Bob Mills also is anticipating a better year for the wheat he is planting in Jackson and Tillman counties.

While he said last year's crops were dismal generally, he also noted that Bentley still performed well.

Oklahoma State University's wheat improvement team, part of its Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, released Bentley in 2015 and report it was the highest performing variety in the 2015-2016 trials.

“On Bentley,” Mills said, “we probably averaged for the whole farm 30 bushels per acre. The year before that, probably the mid-to-high 30s.

"The test weights didn't follow the yield, but they were good.”

Wheat Squared is sponsored by the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and Oklahoma Genetics, Inc. You can find it online at wheatsquared.com.