Salina ? As tale after woeful tale of a dismal wheat harvest comes out of western Kansas, some farmers in the central part of the state have a different story to tell.

Among them is Renee Anderson, who was keeping one eye on approaching thunderstorms Friday and the other on her wheat fields south of Salina.

Despite gloomy predictions of a below-average wheat crop, Anderson said her family has been “blessed with a good harvest.”

Tom Maxwell, district agricultural Extension agent in Salina, said most farmers in the area were experiencing a harvest that appeared to be “slightly better than last year’s.”

Maxwell said yields have been ranging from 35 to 50 bushels an acre, with the average test weight about 60 pounds a bushel.

“Predictions of low yields were based on the fact that visually – and that’s all you have to go on before you get going – the plants and fields as a whole just didn’t look good,” Maxwell said.

Justin Davis, a farm marketer at Cargill Ag Horizons in Salina, said on average, yields are 5 to 10 bushels an acre higher than expected.

The past two days, he said, his elevator has been “busy – make that real busy.”

Most farmers in the southern part of Saline County were close to wrapping up harvest – a week to 10 days ahead of schedule – while those in the northern part of the county still had several days of cutting left, Maxwell said.

With ominous weather in the forecast, Anderson said her family was planning to work until the cutting was finished.

“It’s been a long week, and we’re ready to get this wrapped up,” she said.

She said her family has been seeing yields of between 40 and 60 bushels an acre, with test weights between 60 and 63 pounds per bushel.