Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Yields typically average to below-average
A HighLine Grain Growers gets a weight count on a load of grain Wednesday, Aug. 9. Farmers around Lincoln County are either finishing up or just beginning harvest, depending on geography and rain totals.
DAVENPORT - For some Lincoln County wheat farmers, harvest is just getting started. For others further south, it's nearing completion...if completion hasn't been reached already.
And this year's yield tends to vary between average to below-average, according to experts at HighLine Grain Growers.
"In our southern footprint, which is the Odessa area, yields were down from historical averages, but not too much," HighLine grain marketer Taylor Warwick said. "And protein levels tended to be higher."
Yields are tending to be closer to average or even above average for farmers closer to U.S. Highway 2, where harvest started later than farmers in the southern portion of the county. But even that is hard to generalize, as each farmer got different levels of rain this spring, Warwick said.
"Egypt has been pretty decent on overall yields," Warwick said. "Harrington yields are decent...north of Almira and Wilbur got really good rain."
HighLine manager Beau Duff agreed that it's difficult to summarize various regions, especially in the Davenport and Reardan area.
"A lot of those areas are just now getting started," Duff said. "They're wrapping up in Odessa...but some of the guys around here, I think will be going until the middle of September or even late September depending on moisture levels."
Warwick said protein levels are hit-and-miss this year, but most along the Highway 2 corridor are on or below the 10/5 level exporters want to buy.
Vintage Harvest in Sept. this year
The aforementioned later harvest along the Highway 2 corridor also impacted the date of Vintage Harvest, the annual showcase of old-time harvesters and combines at the red barn two miles east of Davenport.
This year's Vintage Harvest is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 9 and Sunday, Sept. 10.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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