Simpson: 'There's not a lot of alternatives other than to wait'

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

Delayed plantings due to rainy conditions are raising concerns about spring wheat throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Tom Mick, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, said the area hit hardest by the wet weather and delayed planting -- Spokane, Lincoln and Whitman and parts of Asotin counties -- is the state's highest wheat production area outside of Walla Walla county.

The rest of the state is mostly done with planting, Mick said.

Tana Simpson, acting administrator of the Oregon Wheat Commission, said actual numbers aren't in yet, but major wheat production areas in northeastern Oregon and the Willamette Valley are also affected.

Some farmers have been able to get fieldwork done during breaks in the weather, but the commission is receiving reports of delays or the possibility of spring planting not happening.

"There's not a lot of alternatives other than to wait and see if you get a good break," she said.

If spring wheat doesn't go in this year, Simpson said, there may be increased winter wheat planting.

Travis Jones, executive director of the Idaho Grain Producers Association, said farmers in northern Idaho are particularly concerned about the weather conditions. Recent USDA crop progress reports estimate two-thirds to three-quarters of the state's spring wheat crop is planted, but Jones thinks that may be too optimistic, based on an informal survey of association leaders.

The association advises growers to work on possible alternative crops or look to a crop insurance prevented planting option if necessary.

Dave Paul, director of the Spokane office of the USDA Risk Management Agency that covers Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, said planting dates for spring wheat ranged around May 15 in affected counties.

The situation does not occur very often, Paul said.

"Most years these planting dates are set late enough that producers get all their crops planted," he said. "This is like a record-setting late spring. Obviously all those producers are doing their darndest to get their crops planted because prices are good."

If producers don't have spring wheat, spring barley or dry peas or lentils planted by spring planting dates, Paul said they can plant during a late planting period.

For most crops, the period generally lasts 25 days after the final planting date, with a production guarantee reduced by 1 percent per day for each day planting is delayed.

If the farmer doesn't get the crop planted at all, they are eligible for a prevented planting payment, Paul said. The farmer would provide notice to their insurance company within 72 hours after the final planting date or the late planting period.

Paul recommends farmers be in touch with their insurance agent and know their county's final planting date for the crop.

If weather conditions improve, the extra moisture could raise wheat yields above predicted levels, Mick said.

"There is an option of it being a disaster situation if it continues as it is," Jones said.

That decision-making process would begin locally and end up in Washington, D.C., if circumstances meet the proper criteria. "If things don't brighten up, that may be something producers have to deal with. We sure hope not."