It’s wet in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska as the Wheat Quality Council Hard Winter Wheat Tour traverses the central Plains to gauge the crop’s status heading into the homestretch leading up to harvest. The tour is being held about two weeks later than normal, and that’s giving participants — millers, bakers, farmers and grain traders — a view of the crop heading into the flowering stage. Though USDA-NASS data show that just 8% of the Kansas crop is rated excellent, tour-goers are finding fields with massive yield potential based on recent rainfall, much of it falling during the crop’s current critical growth period. But that rainfall is also fueling fears of disease, as some farmers in Kansas and Nebraska have reported isolated cases of stripe rust, one that thrives in cool, wet conditions. There are also some areas that may have been nipped by freezing temperatures last month, but any damage won’t be clear until the crop has fully headed out. See more results from the wheat tour.