Category: News
-
Wheat Fields Turning Yellow
By Vance Ehmke If being $2/bushel below cost of production isn’t enough, now Kansas wheat farmers have what could be a very serious disease problem on their hands with wheat streak mosaic as well as Triticum mosaic virus. In worst cases, entire fields may be lost. Dennis McNinch who farms in northern Ness County says…
-
Wheat and More…or less – Trump, Tariffs and Ag Economics
by Vance EhmkeMarch 4, 2025 Big things are happening on the farm. Let’s take a look at three of them:Trump, tariffs and interest rates/inflation. 1. The Trump effect. So far, farming has taken a number of major hits by elimination of USAID and then severe cuts to USDA personnel and programs. And I certainly…
-
Wheat and More…or less, January/February 2025
By Vance Ehmke For Christmas…. Kansas Farmers Got Lump of Coal After a weak financial year in 2023, many Kansas farmers dreaded meeting with their accountants and tax preparers as they looked at how they did in 2024. Their concerns were justified. Accountant Rohn Shellenberger, Scott City KS said he was “alarmed” to see inventories…
-
Lane County/KSU Wheat Tour
They’re called the Lane County “dryland” wheat plots—and this year you’ll see why! On Wednesday, May 29 starting at 6 pm at the Vance and Louise Ehmke farm, you’ll be able to see all the new and up-and-coming wheat varieties such as KSU’s exciting new release KS Bill Snyder which will be available this fall…
-
Ehmke Seed Will Have KS Bill Snyder This Fall!
Vance and Louise Ehmke at Ehmke Seed are anxiously looking forward to wheat harvest this year and are even more excited to see how the new K-State wheat variety KS Bill Snyder does. The variety, named after the legendary KSU football coach, promises very high yields and other strong traits like drought hardiness. The Ehmkes…
-
Did the Weather Just Take a Turn for the Worse?
Wheat and More…or LessBy Vance Ehmke3-27-2024 Thanks to super optimum planting conditions last fall, many wheat farmers in the central and southern Plains now have some of the best-looking wheat stands in years. That was followed by a relatively wet winter which made the potential look even better. But did the weather just throw us…
-
How Booms Die
Wheat and More…or LessBy Vance Ehmke3-2-24 As they say, “In front of every silver lining, there’s a dark cloud”. The silver lining was the good years in farming of 2021 and 2022. And the dark cloud, well, that’s what’s staring us in the face right now. Indeed, the good years were good. After wheat prices…
-
Ehmke Seed triticale varieties sweep KSU forage tests
In 2022-2023 KSU forage tests, all three Ehmke Seed triticale varieties scored in the top yield group with ThunderTall and ThunderTall ll topping the trials with dry matter production of 7439 pounds and 7354 pounds when harvested at soft dough. These were irrigated trials at the Garden City Experiment Station. In addition, ThunderCale V, a…
-
Will the Ogallala Go the Way of the Buffalo?
Wheat and More…..or LessBy Vance Ehmke11-22-23 The thing that very nearly led to the extinction of an entire species, the American Bison, was what they call, “The Tragedy of the Commons”. In other words, the 19th century Americans saw the bison as owned by everybody, but owned by no one. And the parallels between how…
-
Big Wheat Could Lead to Big Concerns
Wheat and More….or less By Vance Ehmke 11-8-23 Wheat grower Don Hineman of Dighton KS couldn’t believe his good luck when early September rains dumped 3 to 5 inches on parched dry fields setting him and other Lane County farmers up with near perfect planting conditions. But the mild and even hot conditions since then…