February Farm News, 2026

The story of February has been all about weather! It's said around here that we can get four seasons in one day, and while that usually seems most true of April and May, February has been nearly as changeable.

Thankful for rain

Pullman has received 1.5 inches of precipitation this month so far (as of Feb 23), bringing us up to 12.96in total this crop year and way above the average of 9.46. It's coming down outside now as I write this!

Farmers all around the area are jumping (in puddles) for joy, since last year felt dry dry dry. The actual rainfall, 17.73in, was above the average, 16.05in, but for crop health and maturation it's the timing of the precip that is most important. The Palouse tends to get a good amount of water from the late fall into the early spring, which is helpful because the water table is full going into spring planting. Late spring into early summer, however, is when we need rain for the crops to actually develop and 'bulk up'. Last year, we got rain only two days from May 21 to July 20, amounting to 0.1 inch, when the average for that span is 1.67in. Because of that, there was a depletion in seed size across all crop types (grains and legumes) which resulted in a much lower overall harvest.

Worry about everything, panic about nothing.

We assess current and past conditions in the broad scope of all our ground throughout the whole season; and also look at specific data points in individual fields. The farm crew might get rained out for a week and be able to catch up on some mechanic work that popped up and threatened to derail the final seeding push. There might be zero wind for the entirety of spring wheat harvest and result in no down-wheat to pick around, allowing us to get into garbanzo beans earlier and bringing the end of the season up just enough to beat an early frost.  It is the constant farmer's juggle! 

February 9, 2026

February 16, 2026

February 17, 2026

February 23, 2026

Cheers, friends! See you in the next one.

—Maureen