Winter Storms Create Problems for Some Washington Farmers

The storms that have pounded the Northwest throughout the month have been a blessing and a curse at the same time.  The snow and cold temperatures have improved the snowpack across Washington, but according to NASS some farmers have reported damage from this late blast of winter.

• Benton County reported 30 foot drifts from the snow with freezing temperatures, delaying wheat and potato plantings.
• Ranches in Klickitat County had difficulty keeping calves alive in the snowstorms.
• Yakima County had roughly 1,600 dairy cows killed during the February 9^th blizzard; on top of that, there were isolated reports of bud damage in some peach and nectarine orchards.
• Meanwhile, calving in Chelan County has been fairly uneventful with minimal calf deaths reported.
• Columbia County had slow winter wheat emergence and progress. Livestock were under stress and feed stocks were running low.
• Winter wheat in Whitman County meanwhile is in good condition.  The warm and wet fall and early winter helped emergence. Late seeded crops had some winter damage. Spring seeding was delayed. Some livestock producers lost calves.
• Stevens County had single digit and negative temperatures for the first part of February, followed by a foot of snow. Higher-than-average winds caused cover to be removed from fall planted grains in Pend Oreille and Spokane counties; some winter kill on fall grains was reported. Calving issues also ensued due to the inclement weather.
• Heavy, wet snow hit western Washington in early February. Lewis County had several outbuildings collapse, including a dairy barn and two empty poultry buildings. Calving started, however, many producers had trouble sourcing hay for their livestock. Producers were concerned about seed crops in Skagit and Island counties.

If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail gvaagen@cherrycreekradio.com