Spring weather takes toll on grain harvest
By Cindy Snyder, Ag Weekly correspondent
Friday, August 15, 2008 2:34 PM CDT
 |
| Too much cold and wind followed by hot temperatures are flowering are cutting into wheat yields across much of Idaho. CINDY SNYDER/Ag Weekly |
TWIN FALLS, Idaho - Combines are grinding through small grain fields across the state, but many growers are finding harvest to be a mixed bag.
The real estate adage, “location, location, location,” is proving to be the key to whether harvest is average or disappointing.
Dryland areas are suffering yield losses more than irrigated areas, but frost and hail have taken a toll as well. The rapid change from a wintry spring to hot summer weather seems to have caught many fields at flowering, the time when hot temperatures can cause yield loss.
Brad Brown, an extension crop management specialist with the University of Idaho at Parma, has been getting calls from farmers regarding shriveled kernels. In the Treasure Valley, growers who were able to get grain planted early seem to be reaping higher yields than those who battled weather delays.
Wheat yields at the UI Parma station are running 150 to 160 bushel per acre, Brown said, but added that early planting is the norm at the station. He’s heard that some growers are seeing yields of 100 to 110 bu. per acre, down from their long-term average of 130 bu. per acre.
“Growers would have liked to have done better because prices are still pretty high,” Brown said.
Yields in south-central Idaho also seem to be down. Stan Gortsema, UI extension educator for Power County, calls it a disappointing year for some growers. Wheat in his area was looking quite good this spring and growers were looking for better yields, but a lack of timely rains coupled with frost, wind and hot temperatures took a toll, even on irrigated land.
Because of the windy spring conditions, some growers got behind irrigating early in the season and had trouble keeping up with crop demand once the hot weather hit.
Eastern Idaho is just getting started on harvesting grain, but yields are down on dry farms.
That’s the story in north Idaho also. A frost on July 10 coupled with an extremely dry summer is hurting both yield and quality in some areas. Gary Rehder, manager of the Columbia Grain Elevator in Nez Perce said growers in his area are having a hard time getting grain harvested.
Yields are down by about half of normal, he said. He’s seen wheat with a test weight of 55 pounds and soft white wheat coming in with proteins up around 12 to 13 percent.
While wheat yields are disappointing to some growers, the malt barley crop seems to be doing better than some expected given the adverse spring weather. Idaho Agricultural Statistics Service is forecasting a statewide barley yield of 80 bu. per acre, which would be a good average.
Growers haven’t really caught up from the late spring. Harvest is running 10 to 14 days behind normal across much of the state. Growers in north Idaho have harvested just 21 percent of the winter wheat crop by Aug. 11; last year they had 70 percent of the crop in the bin by that time compared with the five-year average of 49 percent. Growers in the Magic Valley had harvested 36 percent of the winter wheat crop, below both last year (76 percent) and the long-term average of 71 percent.
Nationwide, harvest is also behind, and there are concerns about the quality of bread wheat in the Midwest because of dry conditions.
Comments »
Comment on this story
Comments will be approved within 48 hours
|
