08/03/05 A check on the wheat harvest

Farm and Ranch August 3, 2005 Over half, 55 percent, of Oregon's winter wheat crop was in the bin to start this week according to the latest weekly report from USDA. In Washington 40 percent of this year's winter wheat crop had been cut. Idaho is running behind the five-year average pace with 11 percent of its winter wheat harvested. In Oregon, Wheat Commission administrator Tana Simpson, says they have seen significant variations in yields just because of the differences in moisture and timeliness of rains. Simpson: "We are seeing folks in all areas of the state who have very good yields. Anything from 60 bushels in the low-rainfall area, which are traditionally in the 30 bushel area, to 130 bushels in the high rainfall zones, which are traditionally 100 bushels. So we are seeing very good yields in some areas and then we are seeing some folks who had trouble with some spring cropping and annual cropping that doesn't look nearly as good." Wheat growing counties in Washington generally report average to above average winter wheat yields. The first weekly report on soft white wheat quality has a limited number of samples which are primarily from north and east central Oregon and south central Washington. It indicates good test weight at sixty pounds a bushel, low moisture content at 9.3%, high protein at 11% and sound falling numbers at 339. The spring wheat harvest is just getting underway in Idaho, while 45 percent of Oregon's spring wheat has been cut and 22 percent of Washington's spring wheat. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.