winter wheat

Whether you call it a late summer, or beautiful fall; regardless of the name you give it, the weather we’ve seen not only here in the Northwest but across much of the country has been good for harvest, from grapes and tree fruit here in the Northwest, to corn and soybeans in the heartland.  But...

The sunny, dry weather we’ve seen across much of wheat country, not only here in the Northwest, but in the middle portion of the county, is great news for dry down and harvest, but it’s not great news for winter wheat emergence and establishment.  But, as m...

The U.S. winter wheat crop planting passed the halfway mark over the past week to reach 51% complete by Sunday October 6th, one point behind the five-year average.   “One thing we have noticed is that planting has been delayed in a few areas due to dryness," noted USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.  "And so ...

This is the first week of October, which means we’re well into fall panting for winter wheat across the country.   “As we start October, 44% of the winter wheat production area in the United States is in drought," said USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.  "That's actual...

The 2024 season was a struggle for many wheat growers across the Northwest.  Cat Salois with the McGregor Company said yields were “OK” thanks to precipitation that was just “OK” throughout the year.  She noted while late winter and early spring snow and rainfall was good for the region, April, May and June were all very dry months which hurt many spring wheat crops.   As growers focus on making t

The 2024 growing season has been a challenging one and a stressful one for many wheat growers across the region.  And add to the typical stress that farmers face is a lack of a Farm Bill which is months overdue.  Michelle Hennings, Executive Director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers says between the high cost of fuel, equipment, repairs and fertilizer it's going to be a difficult yea

We may have just wrapped up the 2024 winter wheat harvest, but it’s already time to look ahead to 2025, as planting has begun across the country.  USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey looked at planting numbers from last week.   “Showing 2% of the intended acreage planted on that date," Rippey noted.  "Right now par with the ...

Wheat harvest continues across the Northwest, but when it comes to national numbers, growers are in the home stretch.  USDA meteorologist, Brad Rippey said as of Monday August 18th, 96% of the winter wheat acreage nationwide has been cut.   “...

Based on August 1st numbers provided by NASS, winter wheat in Idaho is forecast at 59.5 million bushels, up 1% from the July 1st and up 6% year-over-year.  Harvested area, at 700,000 acres, is up 10,000 acres from the previous forecast and up 70,000 acres from 2023. Yie...

Blame the weather for helping to spread striped rust in winter wheat fields in Washington State this year. In fact, this might be the most severe outbreak in many years.