Record Wheat Harvest Boosts Tonnage At Tulsa Port of Catoosa
The Tulsa Port of Catoosa reported record-setting barge shipments for the month of June. At the close of June 2019, the Tulsa Port experienced historic flooding, which brought barge shipments at the port to a halt. When the waters receded, barge shipments came back stronger than ever, and June 2020 saw a total of 159 barges moving through the port and handling 236,249 tons of cargo, the largest single month in more than five years.
The largest commodity to move in June was wheat. There were 81,782 tons of wheat moved by Gavilon Grain in 52 barges. From 2014–2019, the average monthly movement for June was around seven barges. The port said those movements “made 2020 one for the record books.”
The Oklahoma wheat harvest for June was the highest it has been in years. Troy Marshall, Oklahoma State Statistician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, reports, “Based on the July 1, 2020, Crop Production report, Oklahoma harvested 2.7 million acres of wheat with a 42 bushel per acre yield, causing a total production of 113.4 million bushels, which is a 3 percent increase in production over the 2019 crop year. The 42 bushels per acre is a new state record, beating [the] 2019 record yield of 40.” Wheat is one of the top five agricultural products in Oklahoma.
