Early July rains worry wheat farmers in Washington

WALLA WALLA — Recent rains have delayed the start of wheat harvest for some Walla Walla area farmers and raised concerns about pre-harvest germination in kernels affecting crop quality.

While some combines are already in the fields, other farmers are waiting for their fields to dry out before starting. As of Thursday, Walla Walla had received 1.10 inches of rain, about a half-inch more than an entire July’s worth of rainfall.

“Any time you get rain at harvest it can slow things down,” said Chris Peha, general manager at Northwest Grain Growers. “We’ve probably been delayed a week, but we should be starting next week.”

Peha said the biggest concern now is “falling numbers,” which refers to a test that shows if the wheat has begun germinating within the grain head before harvest. Pre-harvest sprouting reduces the grain yield and quality and can lead to the price being discounted.

“I hope it doesn’t create a sprout issue,” said Perry Dozier, Walla Walla County commissioner who farms wheat near Prescott.

Another issue was the wheat stalks were still uncured, making the plants too difficult to cut. “The straw is tough,” he said.

“Well, it’s certainly slowing (the harvest) down,” said Craig Noble, another wheat farmer. Noble said he normally starts harvesting on July 20 and hoped to begin Friday. He too noted wheat stalks are still tough and was hoping for warm, sunny weather to dry things out.

“Every time it rains, I get in a panic,” he said.

Fortunately, sunny and warm is exactly what is in the forecast for the near future. According to the National Weather Service, the forecast calls for sunny or mostly sunny skies through the weekend with highs in the mid-80s through Sunday, but with a slight chance of isolated showers Monday.