June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat fell for the fifth time in six sessions as U.S. farmers ramp up collection of the winter crop in the southern Great Plains, adding to supplies in storage. About 5 percent of the crop was harvested as of June 7, down from 8 percent a year earlier, according to the Department of Agriculture. In Oklahoma, the second-biggest producer of winter varieties, 9 percent was collected versus 30 percent a year earlier, as rains interfered with fieldwork. In Kansas, the biggest grower, the harvest may start within a week. “We’re starting to see that harvest pressure come into the marketplace,” said Tom Leffler, the owner of Leffler Commodities LLC in Augusta, Kansas. “When this weather clears, we’re going to have the entire state of Oklahoma cutting at the same time.” Wheat futures for July delivery fell 16 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $5.7875 a bushel at 9:57 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. Before today, the most-active contract lost 8.3 percent this month as favorable weather helped improve prospects for the U.S. winter crop. The price is down 7 percent this week. On the Kansas City Board of Trade, wheat for July delivery declined 14.5 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $6.30 a bushel. The commodity has dropped 6.7 percent this week. Parts of Oklahoma and Texas, the fourth-biggest producer of winter varieties, got three times the normal precipitation in the past 30 days, National Weather Service data show. That’s left some fields too muddy for heavy farm equipment. Texas farmers had collected 27 percent of their crop by June 7, down from 32 percent a year earlier, according to the USDA. Wheat is the fourth-biggest U.S. crop, valued at $16.6 billion in 2008, behind corn, soybeans and hay, government data show. The U.S. is the world’s largest wheat exporter.

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