GRANGEVILLE - Farmers in the lower elevations expect to begin cutting the first of this season's wheat crop within days.
Steve Claassen, who farms near Silcott Road in Clarkston, said he will start cutting winter wheat by the end of the week or early next week.
"We're not late," Claassen said Tuesday, referring to the delay in crop maturity most farmers in the area experienced because of the cold, wet spring. "We've been drier than normal down here, so (crops) are going to be right on schedule, it looks like, as warm weather keeps pushing them on."
Claassen is usually among the first growers in the region to cut wheat, which is his only crop. Although much of the area had an abundance of moisture this spring and in early June, Claassen said the moisture level around his farm is about 3 inches lower than normal.
"We're kind of running about where the (Lewiston-Nez Perce County) airport is," he said. "Crops suffered earlier (because of lack of moisture) and they're pruned back a little bit, so (yield) will probably be about average."
Claassen said the high prices of diesel fuel and natural gas-based fertilizers continue to take a toll on farmers, but "as far as this year goes, we're pretty much staying the course. Both of those inputs are a tremendous drag on our returns. Fertilizer is about three times what it was a year ago and fuel is up half again as much."
Dick Wittman, who farms near Lapwai and on the Camas Prairie, said he's about 10 days to two weeks away from first harvest on winter lentils. Crops on the Camas Prairie are lagging about two weeks behind schedule for maturity.
"Moisture is pretty short," Wittman said. "We got a lot of the rains about a month ago, but we're still about 5 inches short of normal. It didn't begin to make up the deficiency."
Travis Jones, executive director for the Idaho Grains Producers Association at Boise, said as farmers head into this year's harvest, wheat prices are continuing to stay strong.
"We are seeing wheat prices staying pretty stable in the $8 (a bushel) range," Jones said. "Wheat's not as volatile as corn and soybeans, but clearly we had a high around $16 for a bushel of wheat last year and I think growers definitely like to see that because all their input prices are high. If it goes back down to the $3-$4 range, they're not going to make it."
Jones said there continues to be a high demand for commodities, such as wheat, on the world market and the latest estimates from Australia indicate the harvest there will not be as high as earlier predicted. Australia is the United States' largest competitor for producing soft white wheat.
"So all those things play into the market every day, but I don't think that the global crop for wheat is going to be as low as it was," Jones said. "However, we've got to build so much back in stocks it's all sold or obligated and that's an issue. So right now in the grain industry we're working to see what's the best way forward with that program. It could have an effect on prices."
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Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@camasnet.com or (208) 983-2326.