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Wheat Tour Finds Yield Losses Across North Dakota

Extended heat and dryness across North Dakota is dropping yields, according to reports from the second day of the Wheat Quality Council's 2006 Hard Spring Wheat and Durum Tour.

The average hard red spring wheat yield was pegged at 29.5 bushels an acre, down 9.5% from the 32.6 calculated in 2005, according to a report from Dow Jones Newswires. "The average durum yield on the second day of the tour was 23.5 bushels, down 21.1% from the 29.8 estimated last year," the report adds.

Tour participants say the wheat is "all below average." Ben Handcock, executive vice president of the Wheat Quality Council, adds the crop isn't a total disaster, but there are some problems.