Kansas wheat quality showing decline

7/10/2000- The Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported Thursday that only 48% of this year's Kansas winter wheat crop was good enough for a No. 1 grading, the highest ranking for milling quality wheat. Another 46% graded as No. 2 wheat. About 6% graded as No. 3 or below. Quality worsened as inspectors followed the harvest northward. The poorest wheat in Kansas came from the dry northwest corner of the state, where sampling shows 28% of the wheat grading at No. 3 or worse. "From the consumer standpoint, the quality of the end product will be the same. It will be good for you. It is just going to take slightly more percentage of the raw product to make it,'' said Lynn Hoelting, general manager for Mueller Grain Co. in Goodland. Experts blame the weather for this year's wheat problems.