WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas farmers have begun harvesting what appears to be a bountiful wheat crop.

More bushels coming in from this year’s harvest will help ease some of the sting from wheat prices that have plunged roughly 53 percent since peaking at $7.77 a bushel during the 2012 drought.

The Agriculture Department reported Friday that it expects wheat prices for the 2016 to 2017 marketing year to range from $3.60 to $4.40 a bushel.

The latest production forecast also released Friday also adjusted upward the government’s estimate for the size of this year’s U.S. winter wheat crop to 1.51 billion bushels.

Kansas, the nation’s largest producer, is expected to harvest 393.6 million bushels. Yields in the state are forecast to average 48 bushels per acre.