NorthwestJuly 16, 2003

Upland farmers are still waiting and wondering

The hungry blades of combines began chewing up the first of the season's winter wheat in the lowest elevations around the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley this week, while farmers on the higher prairies wonder whether they'll get enough rain to save their spring crops.

"Things are just looking average," said Steve Claassen, one of the first farmers around the region to begin cutting wheat. "Our summer fallow wheat is running about 50 bushels (to the acre) and that's about average for this low country."

Claassen, 52, farms with his brother, Keith, on the family farm on Evans Road west of Clarkston, where they were raised.

He said he still enjoys farming, "but it's long hours and it's tough on the family at times. But it's one of those things that, all the cards are on the table and you have to go after it."

Genesee farmer Jim Evans said wheat harvest in his area is still a few weeks away. Fall crops are looking healthy and spring crops appear to be surviving, he said, although he expects yields to be lower than normal.

"A lot of the stuff got planted toward the last half of May and we haven't had any real good rain showers since," Evans said.

Chickpea plantings have dropped off this year because of a blight that affected crops last year and added to the cost of production. But many farmers have added to their dry pea and lentil acreage because of better prices.

Evans, 47, has been farming for about 30 years and said he still likes making his living that way.

"I sometimes think that there's an easier way to make a buck, but it's been enjoyable."

Steve Riggers, who farms with his brother, Nathan, near Craigmont, said winter wheat harvest is still two to three weeks away.

"I think the winter wheat crop looks real good," Riggers said. "The spring crops could be a different story, but so far I think they're holding up pretty well. We definitely would like to see some rain."

Riggers said temperatures reaching into the 90s will take a toll on the young plants, which have not seen any measurable precipitation since early June.

"The moisture down deep is still pretty good, but the top six inches is getting pretty depleted," he said.

Average yield in his area, he said, is 70 and 75 bushels an acre.

Riggers, 46, has been farming for 21 years and said he's glad he's still in the business.

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"There are frustrations, yeah, but I think there are lots of opportunities in this business. ... It's never easy. No one's raking in the dough, but there are times when we've got it pretty good. At least we're not running a dairy."

University of Idaho agriculture economist Larry Makus said the overall outlook for the coming harvest season is not as promising as it was a year ago.

"One of the things that we're facing right now is, if you look at the price, it's down to about what it was last year," Makus said.

August wheat price projections at Portland are at about $3.60 a bushel, compared to $4 to $4.80 last year. The current price is about $3.55 a bushel.

"I don't anticipate that's going to improve," Makus said. "The reason is because there is a much larger U.S. wheat crop, about 40 percent higher than last year."

The overall wheat harvest in the United States last year was 1.6 billion bushels, and 2.3 billion bushels are expected to be harvested this year.

The white wheat crop, raised almost exclusively in the Pacific Northwest, is expected to be about 293 million bushels this year, compared to 239 million bushels last year.

"So I think the big issue on the crop is just the fact that we've got a much larger U.S. crop and that's going to pressure prices," Makus said.

Australia, which also grows white wheat, doesn't harvest its crop until December. But that crop is expected to be almost double what it was last year, which will add to the world stocks and keep prices down.

The United States plans to export about 975 million bushels of wheat this year, compared to 860 million bushels last year.

The leading buyers of wheat include Japan, which takes 32.2 percent of the export crop; the Philippines, which buys 16.6 percent of the crop; Korea with 13.3 percent; Taiwan with 10.3 percent; Yemen with 5.5 percent; and Egypt with 4.6 percent.

Even with the increased exports, Makus said, "when you think about the increase in production, that doesn't help out substantially. We're still going to be producing way more than we're going to use, which means stocks will go up.

"It's hard to be optimistic about prospects for the remainder of the marketing year when you see those kinds of stock levels."

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Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com

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