Growers eye insurance coverage, weather, market prices as harvest begins

By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press

Crop insurance may rescue wheat farmers from low market prices as harvest gets under way in Washington's Whitman County.

The same holds true throughout the Pacific Northwest, said Dave Paul, director of the Spokane regional office of the Risk Management Agency, which oversees Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska.

Randy Suess, a farmer based in Colfax, Wash., said his production costs put his farm about 63 cents off the market price. Suess is a commissioner representing Whitman County for the Washington Grain Commission.

"I've heard reports you need (a market price of) $5.50 to break even, so then you have to add 63 cents on top of that," he said. "It'd be well over $6, and I don't think we're going to see that for a long time."

Suess said he expects all wheat raised under the Crop Revenue Coverage insurance program will hit the market at about the same time.

Gary Behymer, manager of the Colfax, Wash.-based Almota Co., said about 75 percent of the individual farmers in the area are participating in the program.

"It gives them a guarantee per acre depending on what level of insurance they bought in, whether it be 50 percent, 75 percent or 85 percent of their acreage," he said.

The Crop Revenue Coverage Program covers up to 85 percent, Paul said.

A USDA report on carryover stock from last year also indicates there won't be a significant move in the market for a while, Suess said.

With nearly 458,000 acres in wheat, Whitman County is the largest wheat-producing county in the state and second in the United States, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture.

Glen Squires, vice president of the Washington Grain Alliance, said a typical yield in Whitman County is not necessarily the highest, but is on the high end.

"Walla Walla, Columbia and Whitman counties all have yields that are higher than most of the other counties, because of the higher rainfall," he said.

Behymer said the harvest is progressing from the Snake River toward Colfax as normal.

"Our harvest start dates at our three elevators are right on schedule," he said. "We do have people, in our area, anywhere from seven to 10 days behind what normal might be."

In Colfax, people haven't begun harvesting their wheat yet, Suess said.

"We got the spring crop about two weeks late, and that's just about where harvest is right now," he said.

Suess said he is hearing reports the harvest is off to a good start in the Endicott and Lacrosse parts of the county.

Rains in Pullman last fall made the wheat that is now ready for harvest look good, Suess said, noting he is expecting some bumper crops in that region.

After cooler temperatures in June, Behymer said, the wheat was showing marked improvement over how it looked 30 to 60 days prior.

Last year's crop experienced high protein levels, but Suess is hearing the crop has returned to levels that are normal or slightly above normal.

"There hasn't been a lot of wheat cut, so it's hard to tell for sure," he said.

High temperatures of about 100 to 110 degrees in the sun took more of a toll on machinery and farmers working 12-hour days than the crop on the ground, Behymer said.

Cooler temperatures and rain began to occur around Aug. 6.

"We don't look at the calendar yet. We're still early," Behymer said. "We're just watching the weatherman. You can't change the weather or worry about it, but you certainly watch it."

Suess said he believes the yield will be down across the state, due to significant portions that didn't have a good crop due to dry conditions.

"I think we're going to see some lower bushel numbers than normal," he said.

Matthew Weaver is based in Spokane.
E-mail: mweaver@capitalpress.com.