By JIM TALAMONTI
Illinois Radio Network
(IRN) — The president of an Illinois seed company says this year’s wheat harvest is looking good, in spite of a wet spring.
AgriMaxx Wheat President Matt Wehmeyer is also a member of the Illinois Wheat Association board. Wehmeyer said cold temperatures helped offset the wet conditions.
“Growers have been very pleased with the wheat harvest thus far. Yields have been good. They have been better than expectation, even in areas where we had too much water and we had some concerns,” Wehmeyer told The Center Square.
Wehmeyer said the water created “some wounds” in the wheat crop.
“However, with the cool temperatures that we had during May and June during grain fill, it’s like the temperatures healed the wounds,” Wehmeyer explained.
Some producers had issues with poor drainage, but the overall outlook is optimistic, Wehmeyer said.
“If you had a great-lying field with no water issues and no drainage issues, you’re having really good wheat. As we move north into central Illinois and northern Illinois, they’re cutting some very good wheat crop,” Wehmeyer explained.
Wehmeyer said a new check-off program will help Illinois’ wheat industry.
In April, the Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed that the state’s wheat producers voted in favor of a voluntary check-off with an assessment rate farmers pay of 1.5 cents per bushel.
“I think that’s going to speak volumes to the future of wheat here in Illinois. Illinois is the leading soft red winter wheat state,” Wehmeyer said.
The check-off is aimed at developing new markets for wheat and wheat products, providing research, enhancing production and helping the industry adapt to changing markets.
Wehmeyer said similar programs have worked well for other commodities.
“We’ve been observing benefits from the corn check-off and the soybean check-off, and now we’re going to see some of those benefits transition into the wheat industry as well,” Wehmeyer said.
The wheat check-off program is scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2026.
Illinois ranked 11th in the U.S. with more than 60 million bushels of wheat produced in 2024. The IWA says wheat currently ranks third on Illinois farms after corn and soybeans.
