08/01/07 Rapid grain harvest continues in PNW

Farm and Ranch August 1, 2007 Mostly hot dry weather has meant good progress for the winter wheat harvest in the Pacific Northwest. That's the message in the weekly crop progress reports from state Agricultural Statistics Service bureaus. The pace in all three PNW states is running ten percentage points or more ahead of the five year average for now with 60 percent of Oregon's winter wheat harvested to start this week, 38 percent of Washington's and 24 percent of Idaho's. Nationally 88 percent of the winter wheat crop has been cut but USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey says harvest still hasn't been completed in the southern plains. Rippey: "Still seeing harvest progress of only 95% in Texas and 87% in Oklahoma. That should have been finished long ago." Rippey says hot dry weather has also meant good harvest progress for spring cereals. Rippey: "So for example barley harvest now 14% complete. Seven percent for the five year average. Spring wheat 10% by July 29th versus the five year average of eight percent." The spring wheat harvest in Oregon is 48 percent complete, in Washington 16 percent and in Idaho three percent. As for wheat yields and quality, Sherman County Oregon reports yields are slightly better than average and the quality slightly above average as well for winter wheat but yields are expected to be down for spring wheat. Adams and Walla Walla counties in Washington reported average yields with below average yields in Asotin County. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.