This article was originally posted at 6:56 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 14. It was last updated with additional information at 11.17 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, May 14.

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WICHITA, Kan. (DTN) -- Numbers may not lie, but they don't always tell the whole story, either. That proved to be the case on Day 2 of the Wheat Quality Council's 2025 Hard Winter Wheat Tour.

Tour participants scouted 211 fields on Wednesday, traversing six routes in western, southwest and south-central Kansas from Colby to Wichita. The group arrived at a weighted average yield of 53.3 bushels per acre (bpa), roughly 26% greater than Day 2 during last year's tour and the second-highest Day 2 yield average in the past decade.

Yet, while the Day 2 estimated yield average was only nominally greater -- 2.8 bpa -- than what the same scouts estimated for Day 1 of the tour across north-central and northwest Kansas, there was another factor for which the number couldn't account: potential.

On Day 1, the group encountered a crop struggling from both drought stress and the effects of infection from wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV). Clawing back yield potential didn't seem like a possibility; any rainfall could only slow the crop's decline. Yet, on Day 2, the narrative changed, and some optimism creeped back into the storyline.

"I guess that it is no secret, but the story of the day again was wheat streak mosaic, perhaps much worse than the previous day," said Romulo Lollato, Extension wheat and forages specialist at Kansas State University. "Some fields were bright yellow and good height, but very, very stressed by the wheat streak mosaic. That has been the biggest story of today, followed also by probably not as much drought stress as what we saw on the first day."

During the subsequent crop discussion, tour scouts anecdotally reported that for many, the WSMV they encountered seemed to be less severe than what was observed on the tour's first day. The symptoms of firing in the lower canopy brought on by drought stress decreased and, in some cases, completely disappeared as the group moved east into south-central Kansas.

Overall, estimated yields for Day 2 ranged from a low of 16 bpa to a high of 119 bpa, reinforcing that variable conditions still existed. Combining Day 1 and Day 2 of this year's tour, the average yield was 52 bpa, a 13.5% yield increase from last year.

Lee Scheufler, a farmer from Sterling, Kansas, said that he remained optimistic about his wheat crop. November rains helped his crop establish a strong root system and a good number of tillers last fall. Despite some abnormally low temperatures during winter, the crop broke dormancy in decent shape. He said they've received beneficial rains when they needed them.

"I'm optimistic because we still have that potential," he told DTN, noting that he's been watching for the symptoms of WSMV to appear. "Particularly in the fields that have been in no-till longer, I think we maybe have 90-bushel potential."

The third and final day of the 2025 Hard Winter Wheat Tour takes place on Thursday, May 15. Scouts will assess fields between Wichita and Manhattan, Kansas. The tour's final yield estimate and production projection will be released in the early afternoon following the wrap-up crop discussion at Kansas State University.

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Editor's Note:

DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins is participating on this year's tour. Look for more daily updates and final yield estimates on www.dtnpf.com and on social platform X.

To see the story from Day 1 of the tour, go to: https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Jason Jenkins can be reached at jason.jenkins@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @JasonJenkinsDTN

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