As the economy reopens after the COVID-19 pandemic, the wheat industry is at a critical point, the new chairman of the Washington Grain Commission says. "A lot of our buyers,
SEATTLE Mike Carstensen has seen prices for the wheat he grows on his Lincoln County farm rise from $8.16 in January to $9.26 per bushel, although the price fluctuates. It’s a nice bump, he said, but it’s not enough to make up for the one-third increase in costs from rising gasoline prices over the same period.
Drought hit Washington hard and fast Here s what it has meant for farmers, wildfires columbian.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbian.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Farmers, experts anticipate worst wheat harvest in years after extreme heat, drought By Nico Portuondo, The Spokesman-Review
Published: July 12, 2021, 6:23pm
Share: John Lindgren, export terminal director at United Grain, dips his hand into a conveyor belt transporting hard red winter wheat from a ship into storage containers at Port of Vancouver on Nov. 7, 2018. (The Columbian files)
SPOKANE At this time of year, Marci Green usually can expect her Fairfield farm to have rolling fields of green, thick and tall wheat just about ready to be dried up for harvest in late July.
But after weeks of extreme drought and heat, Green now walks out to see her wheat fields short, sparse and bluer than years past. Every indication, she said, points to wheat kernels that are tiny, dry and shriveled up little things.