NM wheat farmers see high yields

Rick Ledbetter, who farms near Portales, said he and his neighbors have finished harvesting wheat to use the plant for silage and hay. Farmers growing wheat for grain expect to harvest in June. “The wheat has been a very good harvest,” Ledbetter said. “You know, the winter moisture really helped the wheat crop.” Not only did the winter snow help the crop, said Dave Sanders, who farms south of Elida, but rain also came in April when the wheat was hurting for water. Ledbetter said he harvested about 8 tons of silage wheat per acre and 2 1/2 tons of wheat hay per acre. He heard of silage yields up to 12 tons an acre and expected others would have gotten higher yields on hay as well. The silage wheat in the area goes to dairies, and the wheat hay feeds horses and dairy cattle, Ledbetter said. Sanders estimated that he would harvest an above-average 15-20 bushels of grain an acre from his dryland wheat, although he said the price he could get for it was looking weak. For his irrigated wheat hay crop, he harvested about 1 1/2 tons an acre, which he said was good...more