Green Wheat Pushes Back Harvest

WAITSBURG - Some farmers in the northern Touchet Valley area are pushing back harvest even further this sum- mer because wheat crops are still too green.

Waitsburg wheat farmer Neil Carpenter said his harvest work had been held up four days last week because of unripened wheat.

"It doesn't thresh real well," Carpenter said. "It's tough."

Carpenter said it's not a happy sight to see green wheat kernels in his tank. He be- lieves he's still got some green wheat because of the wet, cold spring. That type of weather is a blessing because cool springs mean bigger heads on the wheat plants. But, those better wheat heads do take longer to dry out, he said.

To tell if the wheat is ready for harvest, Carpenter said he will use a traditional method of evaluation.

"When you bite on the wheat it's got to snap," he said.

Or, grain elevators have special digital tools that measure the moisture of the wheat and the protein content to see if it's ready to thresh. Carpenter said he's looking for low mois- ture and low protein for his soft white wheat crops.

Carpenter is not the only one a bit behind schedule. He said the spring crops and the re-crops are also behind. Recrop is land that is planted with the same crop on two years in a row.

JE McCaw, the Waitsburg branch manager of the Northwest Grain Growers, said harvest is a little late, but not everyone is having ripening issues like Carpenter.

"I don't think it's a big is- sue," McCaw said. "I'm sure guys are just anxious to work on it."

Heath Barnes, the grain merchandiser for the Columbia County Grain Growers, also said some farmers have had a ripening problem, but it's not a widespread issue ex- pected to push harvest back for the valley. Harvest is running just about 10 days later than normal, Barnes said.

Those who are having prob- lems with green wheat are located in the northern areas of the valley where the elevation is higher, McCaw said. But, the recent 100-degree weather should dry the crops out and ripen them nicely, he said, expecting harvest to be well underway this week for the farmers in the north.

With a later-than-typical start to harvest this summer, Carpenter is not happy to lose four days because he's on a deadline. His two sons will head off to Washington State University campuses in mid- August. They're a big part of his harvest team and he's hoping to get all of the work done before they report back to college.

"I'm trying to get going," Carpenter said. "WSU starts so early. That's why I'm in a time crunch."

Carpenter does have some- one lined up in case harvest takes longer than his sons can be in town. Also, as he gets more cutting done at one farm and can move onto the next, he goes from needing two extra workers to one extra workers. His sons drive a water tank and a bank-out wagon at the first farm he harvests, but he only needs a bank-out wagon driver at the second farm.

McCaw said lots of sum- mer harvest helpers report back to college this month and some farmers might have to bring in some pinch hitters to get the job done when the students leave.

"If it's somebody you've relied on it might be hard to find somebody to replace them," McCaw said.

In addition to key members of his team shipping off this month, Carpenter is also wor- ried about rain and bad weather.

When rain hits the ripened wheat, it begins to sprout. Car- penter said sprouting wheat is much less valuable and the farmer will take a hit in prices at the grain elevator.

"They take big deductions," he said.

The wheat that's in good condition and doesn't sprout is still expected to bring the farmers big returns, McCaw said. The wheat market is still volatile, and recent activity overseas and in the Midwest seems to have driven the mar- ket up, even as much as 25 to 30 cents in one day, he said.

Finally, simply the anticipa- tion of getting the harvest done is on Carpenter's mind. And he's likely not alone.

"You spent two years rais- ing this crop - you want to get it in the bin," he said.

Carpenter expects to be done in about one week or so harvesting his 800 acres of wheat. But this week, he's s ex- hausted and has such a big task ahead of him, he said it's hard to think about it being over.

"I haven't even thought that far ahead," he said with a laugh.