Wheat harvest begins with prices drastically lower
Don McManman
For The Sentinel
Coming off a year of dizzying prices, Klickitat County farmers have started cutting wheat for a market price much closer to earth.
On Monday, as increasing numbers of trucks headed for Klickitat Valley Grain Growers' elevators in Goldendale and Centerville, the price was $5 a bushel for winter soft white wheat, eventually delivered in Portland.
Last year, the market closed at $13.10 in December, if you were lucky enough and had enough flexibility to sell into a buying market, which was caused by short crops in many areas around the world and global economic uncertainty.
But many farmers weren't so blessed. The average price for Northwest soft white wheat was $7.30.
Still, $5 is higher than in many years. The average price in 2004, for example, was $3.52.
Klickitat Valley elevators accepted their first delivery of barley (always an early harvest) on July 17 from farmer Scott Wilkins. The Centerville elevator had its first wheat delivery from Joel Crocker.
"The peak is generally in the first or second week of August," said Terry Turner, Klickitat Valley manager. "But things seem a bit earlier this year."
Wheat harvests in Centerville generally arrive before those around Goldendale. On one day last week, the Centerville elevator had 67 trucks, three times the number arriving at the Goldendale elevator.
Virtually all wheat grown in Klickitat County - and the Pacific Northwest as a whole - won't be used in North America.
Soft white wheat has less gluten than other varieties, making it less suitable for bread, but perfect for noodles. Hence, almost all Northwest soft white is destined for Asia.
A different variety-club wheat-is grown in the Northwest. It's often mixed with soft white to create flour used for sponge cakes in Japan. Although the club Portland delivery price on Monday was about the same as that for soft white, there was a premium on the horizon.
If a farmer could afford to hold on to his club wheat until May 2010, he could get $7.40 a bushel, compared to about $5 delivered now. Less than 10 percent of all wheat deliveries to Klickitat Valley elevators come from club growers, according to Turner.
Geography plays a part in marketing wheat from the Northwest. In short, we're close and cheap.
Barge traffic along the Columbia River corridor is inexpensive, compared to other haulers. Hence, most grain prices are set FOB Portland. For those merchants shipping out of Puget Sound ports, rail transportation is reasonable when compared to rates farmers in North Dakota, for example, must pay.
Finally, grain ports in the Pacific Northwest are closer to eastern Asia than any other in the U.S. When you're talking about big, bulky commodities, miles and costs add up fast.
The close relationship with Asia is more than a century old, and was one of the things that attracted commodity farmers to Klickitat County. But wheat has lost its importance over the years.
Traditionally, wheat was grown on marginal land, especially in the eastern ranges of the county. Much of that land has been withdrawn from cultivation under the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which pays farmers $30 per acre a year to withdraw their land from cultivation and seed native plants.
Each county is limited to 25 percent of total tilled acres, and Klickitat County often reaches that mark.
In addition, development continues to take land out of commodity farming. Subdivisions have created small-time, or hobby, farmers. In the 2007 Census of Agriculture, there were 380 who said their primary occupation was farming, while 513 listed occupations other than farming as their main sources of income.
By far, the greatest farm gate value ($29.5 million) came from fruit orchards, followed by cattle ($8.9 million) and grain ($8.6 million).
In 2007, the last year for which complete data have been compiled, there were 74 farms in Klickitat County that raised wheat. In 1987, there were 136 farms that raised wheat.
In 2007, Klickitat County raised 1.1 million bushels of wheat. By comparison, Whitman County, in the heart of the Palouse and traditionally the state's biggest grain producer, harvested 30.5 million bushels.
If there's any consolation, Palouse farmers must pay substantially more than Klickitat farmers to get their grain to Portland.
First weed-free hay harvested
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Klickitat County's first certified weed-free hay was harvested in June by Dave Barta, in response to the new requirement that only certified weed-free feed is allowed in the federal forests. The issue affects people who ride horses or work livestock in the forests. The new law applies to 17 national forests in Washington and Oregon and the Crooked River National Grasslands in Oregon. The law went into effect on a limited basis in January of 2007 and became forest wide in January of this year.
Barta decided to have a field of orchardgrass certified at the urging of Jim Pence. Pence rides with the Backcountry Horsemen, an organization dedicated to keeping back country and wilderness trails open to horsemen. In addition to riding in the forests for pleasure, the group provides community service by helping to maintain trails and educate the public on responsible use of those areas. For Pence, a source of nearby certified hay was important.
Marty Hudson, Klickitat County weed district manager, is the only approved inspector for certifying fields as weed-free in Klickitat County. In order to receive certification, the field must be free of reproductive parts of weeds that are listed in the Washington Wilderness Hay and Mulch program. Fields that pass are rated A, B or C. A class A field exceeds the standard, meaning the field is essentially a pure stand of the crop. Class B meets the standard and has no noxious or designated weeds. Class C is a field that may contain listed weeds, but does not have any reproductive parts. A field with some thistles in the rosette stage might be a field that could be a class C field. The field must be harvested within 10 days of the inspection and the outside two rounds cannot be included in the certified hay. Each cutting requires a separate certification.
Hudson walked Barta's 21 acres and sent the certification paperwork with pictures, a map and notes to the Washington State Weed Control Board, who runs the certification program for Washington. In Oregon, the program is operated by the State Department of Agriculture. The Weed Control Board sells purple and yellow twine to the grower to designate the bale weed-free. The standard cost for inspection is $35 and the ball of twine cost is $40.
Barta normally sells his hay to local horsemen and doesn't foresee the demand for certified hay to be large enough to increase his certified acres.
"It is a bit challenging because it can't come in contact with other hay," said Barta. "For my size operation, I have to move it when the other hay comes in."
The return on the certified hay is good, however, particularly in Barta's case since his field was already weed-free. "My regular hay goes for about $150 per ton. I set the price of the certified hay based on information from The Dalles, which came out to $225 per ton, or $11 to $12 per bale.
The Forest Service says they are focusing on education until signs are fully posted and their public education efforts take effect. The rule applies to hay, hay cubes, straw, grain, and all other crops or mulches. Commercially processed feed pellets, or steamed, rolled grains are allowed.
Penalties can be up to $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization and up to six months in prison. The rule does not apply to people who are transporting non-certified feed or bedding through the forest if they area not unloaded.
Sources of certified hay, feed and bedding are available through the Weed Control Board web page at www.nwecb.wa.gov and is also linked at the Backcountry Horsemen's page at www.bchw.org.
New name for local phone service
Embarq is merging with another rural telephone service company called Century Tel, and the new combined company is to be called Century Link.
At a luncheon meeting Monday, Embarq representatives spoke about the changes.
"I know, every time we come up here, it's a new name," said Mary Gumm from Embarq, acknowledging the frequency of name changes for the company.
The company names have been United Telephone, Sprint, Embarq, and now Century Link.
While the combination of Embarq and Century Tel is described as a merger, actually Embarq was bought by Century Tel on July 1. The new company will be the third largest rural telephone service provider in the U.S. It will be in 33 states and have 20,000 employees, 17,000 of them from Embarq. A total of four people working for Embarq in the northwest will be laid off, with most lay-offs taking place at the company's larger offices. Headquarters will be in Monroe, La.
The new Century Link will commit resources to expand DSL internet service more broadly throughout the Goldendale area, representatives said. |
