Indiana Grain Company, LLC

Posted: 07/25/10

By: tomgrisafi

A cool and moist late spring may have posed problems for some Washington crops, but it could be a boon to dryland wheat farmers.

Yields of Washington winter wheat are predicted this year to reach about 65 bushels per acre, up from 59 bushels in 2009, while the spring wheat harvest is projected at a record 56 bushels per acre, according to a forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Harvest has started in parts of Walla Walla and Franklin counties and is expected to begin within a week in others, with cutting from 10 days to two weeks behind in Whitman County because of the wet spring, said Brett Blankenship, president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

"Summer's finally here, the grain is growing and the quality looks good," said Blankenship, who farms in the Washtucna area. "The yields look to be 10 percent to 20 percent higher than normal."

Total wheat production in Washington, Oregon and Idaho is projected at 310.2 million bushels, which would be a 10-year high, said Glen Squires, vice president of Washington Grain Alliance.

Yields of Washington winter wheat alone are forecast to be 111.8 million bushels, up from 96.7 million bushels in 2009, according to the USDA. The bulk of the state's wheat is exported.

"It looks like it certainly will be a good crop," Squires said.