This year’s conditions: a mixed bag

Even though recent rains have disrupted spring planting and made it difficult for some farmers to get their crops in the ground, others fear a hot, dry summer lies ahead.

According to the Thursday issue of the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of north central Idaho is listed in the moderate drought range. Parts of Whitman and Asotin counties are listed as abnormally dry.

“We welcome the rain but we’re flirting with a countywide drought situation,” University of Idaho-Nez Perce County Extension Educator Doug Finkelnburg said last week.

“We’re right on the cusp (of drought) so we’re hoping that these seasonal, timely rains will continue.”

Finkelnburg said the cold, dry weather this winter, especially in February, took a toll on the winter wheat that was planted late last summer and it’s currently looking “tougher than usual.”

Ironically, the rains in April delayed many farmers from getting out into the fields for spring planting. Although those in the lower elevations have mostly finished spring seeding by now, some farmers on the Camas Prairie and elsewhere may have to forego planting altogether, Finkelnburg said. Crop insurance guidelines set a deadline for how late a crop can be seeded to be eligible for the current year’s coverage.

“In the higher elevations and the Camas Prairie, that delay is probably going to translate into some people who are not going to put in a cash crop,” Finkelnburg said.

Audra Cochran, the extension educator for Lewis County, said farmers throughout the county were late getting into their fields “and there still is quite a bit of moisture up there.”

Farmers in the Nezperce-Craigmont area are mostly wrapping up whatever spring work they can do but those in the Winchester area “are just really getting going. It’s kind of a mixed bag across the prairie, depending on where you’re at,” Cochran said.

One crop that seems to be doing especially well so far is the winter canola. Blindingly mustard-yellow fields spread across the prairie in large swaths, attracting pollinators and distracting drivers.

Finkelnburg said canola is a profitable crop for farmers, although wheat remains the mainstay of most producers’ paycheck.

“Those oilseed acres are competitive,” he said.

And Cochran added: “It does seem like there’s more fields in it.”

Mark Heitstuman, the Washington State University Extension educator for Asotin, Garfield and Whitman counties, said farmers in southeastern Washington also are concerned about a potentially dry year.

“We had quite a bit of snow but not a lot of moisture in the snow,” Heitstuman said. “There are some concerns. Unless we get rains in June, we’re probably going to have an average crop.”

The cool, wet weather in early spring delayed farmers by about two weeks getting their spring crops planted, Heitstuman said, “and that’s not a good sign.”

The winter wheat crop also suffered a setback last fall when it got cold in November with little or no snow cover on the ground before the plants had developed good root systems. This year’s winter wheat, Heitstuman said, will likely be a mediocre crop — unlike last year, when Whitman County produced the biggest wheat crop in the Pacific Northwest.

Winter wheat prices have dropped from a year ago, according to the USDA Portland Daily Grain Bid. As of Friday, soft white wheat was selling for $7 to $7.45 a bushel. A year ago soft white wheat went for $11.31 a bushel.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported earlier this month that winter wheat production in the Pacific Northwest is expected to be down significantly this year.

In Idaho, production of winter wheat is forecast at 60.9 million bushels, down 5% from 2022. Yield is expected to average 87 bushels per acre, down three bushels from last year. Harvested acres are forecast at 700,000 acres, down by 10,000 acres in 2022.

In Washington, production was forecast at 99.8 million bushels, down 19% from 2022. Yield is expected to average 57 bushels per acre, down 11 bushels from last year. Harvested acres are forecast at 1.75 million acres, down 50,000 acres from 2022.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.