Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Lynn Schmidt (on combine) enjoyed giving a combine ride to Maverick Shimic, Jr. during the family's visit last week.
Bella Arens and her brother Maverick Shimic, Jr. of Spokane visit farmland owned by Lynn and Virgil Schmidt during this summer's harvest.
ODESSA – Harvest in Odessa is progressing rapidly this year. The lack of rain and the higher than normal temperatures have reduced yields across the board by about 40 to 50% according to Mark Cronrath of the Odessa Trading Company. Quality is also just so-so, he says. Odessa area farmers were blessed with several back-to-back years of very good crops leading up to what Cronrath calls this "insurance year" in which low yields will lead many farmers to file insurance claims on an unprofitable crop.
Harvest began with the first load of wheat arriving at OTC's Ruff station on July 5. Cronrath expects the entire wheat harvest to wrap up by the end of July. In a more normal year, loads would be coming into stations well into August.
Now that the harvest is wrapping up, a major concern for wheat farmers, especially dryland farmers, is that there is no reserve moisture in the soil for fall planting. Most farmers will likely hold off on seeding a winter wheat crop until a good rain (or two) has visited their fields. If the rains don't materialize, it could mean a poor crop again next year.
At Highline Grain Growers, Inc. (formerly the Odessa Union Warehouse), Taylor Warwick had much the same to say about the winter wheat crop in the Odessa area – an early start, a fast harvest and a wrap-up by the end of July, with yields down and protein figures leading to dockage. To the north and east at Davenport and along Hwy 2, yields were also down by 30 to 40%. More residual moisture there helped crop yields to some extent. Still, the lack of spring rains and the high summer temperatures affected more than just the winter wheat crop. Peas also suffered, Warwick said. Spring crops in general were hurt more than the winter wheat in many areas.
Some farmers have been known to hold on to their crops, waiting for the price of wheat to rise. Throughout the summer, the price of wheat has continued its upward climb. As of right now, it is approaching $10/bushel. Those with wheat sitting in the warehouse unsold are waiting for the optimum time to sell.
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