The Palouse Wheat Harvest Disappointment
Farmers in the Palouse country face a double blow: lower-than-expected yields and a market price that refuses to budge.
The wheat harvest is proving a disappointment around Garfield in the Palouse country. Three-fourths of the crop, which virtually means all the spring wheat, is falling below the standard weight of 58 pounds per bushel. Test after test has been made with samples that looked plump and fine, yet they only weighed 54 to 57 pounds per bushel. Fields that were expected to yield 30 to 35 bushels per acre only produced 18 to 22. The injury is generally attributed to 10 days of excessively hot weather just when the wheat was filling out. Despite the poor harvest, there is great activity in getting grain into warehouses. Farmers are holding out for at least 50 cents per bushel, refusing to sell at the current 40-cent market rate. Local bankers and warehousemen are supporting this strategy by making advances to farmers, allowing them to wait for better prices.
“At this last-named price there is fair money in wheat-growing in the Palouse, but the business is no good at any less price.”
The Palouse remains one of the world's most productive wheat-growing regions, but the volatility of global commodity prices and the impact of climate-driven heat waves continue to define the economic reality for Eastern Washington farmers today.
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