The Dry Spell on Eureka Flat
Farmers are stalling wheat planting as a rare November drought threatens the upcoming harvest.
The story, cleaned up
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Less than twenty per cent of the entire acreage in the Eureka Flat wheat belt to be sown to fall wheat has been seeded down. This was the estimate given this morning by Lum Hale, one of the largest farmers on the flat. Continued dry weather has delayed seeding operations to such an extent that should cold, stormy weather set in, it would be highly improbable that fifty per cent of the farmers would be able to get their fall crops in. 'Continued dry spell is something unusual for the flat country,' Mr. Hale said. 'Farmers are anxious to get their fall sowing done, but so long as the ground is in its present dry condition, nothing can be accomplished with any certainty that the work will not have to be done over again. Many farmers commenced sowing immediately after the last rains, but were forced to suspend operations and are now merely waiting for another shower to come along.'
“Many farmers commenced sowing immediately after the last rains, but were forced to suspend operations and are now merely waiting for another shower to come along.”
Agriculture remains the backbone of the region, and reliance on timely rainfall continues to be the primary anxiety for growers in the Walla Walla Valley. This struggle with unpredictable weather patterns is as resonant today as it was for the wheat farmers of 1903.
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