Dryland

Spring wheat production is down 4.5% from last year nationwide, but Northwest farmers are keeping pace. Washington has 53% of its crop rated good to excellent, and Idaho is slightly ahead at 62%.

Wednesday's USDA crop report brought mixed news. Wheat is down sharply across the board, but corn could finish as the second biggest harvest ever recorded in the United States.

Santa Fe hosted more than 140 wheat industry reps from across Latin America and the Caribbean last month, giving U.S. farmers a chance to meet face-to-face with the millers and importers who buy their grain.

Pacific Northwest wheat growers store grain longer than almost anyone else in the country, which makes pest management more important here than most places.

Attacks on Black Sea shipping lanes are stacking up fast. Ukraine recorded dozens of vessel strikes and 67 port hits in July, and wheat export forecasts have been cut nearly in half as a result.

Brad Rippey with the USDA called the wildfire smoke an atypical challenge for the region, and growers across Idaho, Washington, and Oregon felt it during the final push of winter wheat harvest this season.

Kansas wheat fields are coming up short in a big way this year. Drought and freeze damage have pushed the expected harvest down to 196 million bushels, nearly half of what farmers brought in just last year.

American wheat farmers have been part of global food aid efforts for more than 70 years, and a recent shipment out of New Orleans is a reminder of how much that program still moves.

BASF's InVigor Gold L322 is built around one practical idea — get canola through pollination before the heat arrives, giving Northwest farmers a steadier shot at consistent yields in tough years.

Smoke from regional wildfires has been a real obstacle for wheat farmers this season, but harvests across Washington, Idaho, and Oregon are moving faster than usual — Oregon jumped from 48% to 73% in just one week.