July Farm News
Happy July! Summer is in full swing here in the Palouse, and the farm is getting ready for harvest. The wheat is turning gold, the legumes are flowering beautifully, and everyone is as busy as ever.
June was quite dry: we received only one tenth of an inch of rain the whole month. Thankfully we had a decently wet fall and winter so the water table was full enough going into the season that the crops have had enough moisture to still grow and develop well. It felt pretty warm last month but actually we are right on track with growing degree days, as both May and June were right on the average between 2023 and ’24.
The forecast for July looks to continue the trend, with daily high temperatures in Pullman in the upper 80s into the 90s, and evening lows in the mid to high 50s. All this heat with little to no rain isn’t ideal but there’s no need to worry: the yields we expect to see from the spring crops (everything but the soft white and hard red winter wheats) will be lighter than usual, but we had such good establishment after planting that even though each individual plant will produce slightly smaller or fewer seeds, we’re still in a really good spot. When asked directly, Kevin Mader said he’s “not in freak-out mode. It is what it is.”
The rest of the crop report is entirely positive with no looking on the bright side necessary. There has been little to no impact from insects or disease in any of the fields, so the plants are developing well and aren’t stressed from those angles. We planted a new-to-us type of green peas this season (adorably, the variety is named Passion) which has a slightly different growth habit than we’re used to. The stalks don’t grow quite as tall nor the tendrils as long as we’ve previously experienced. Because of this, we’re expecting to see earlier seed development and larger, more uniform peas as the smaller plants will be able to direct their energy and resources to the progeny rather than to vegetal growth.
The winter wheat is turning fast! In the first half of June the gem-green hills slowly begin the shift to gold. It starts with a slight dusting across the spikes that's hardly noticeable except that it makes the fields look sort of fuzzy and out of focus, like a subtle halo or glow is coming from the stalks. This seems to last for a few weeks until suddenly you’re driving around and see full patches and stripes of gold all around. This transition time is referred to as "kernel fill", and somehow even though most of us have been in the Palouse for years, if not our whole lives, the color change surprises us every season.
In the shop everything is running smoothly and on schedule. We don't have any new equipment to prepare or figure out this year; Kevin says we're running "steady eddy" and not expecting any surprises... Cross your fingers for us!
We're planning for harvest to start in a few weeks on July 21. Cutting winter wheat is up first, starting at the south end of our properties in a field we call Farmhouse, as it's right near an old—you guessed it—farm house that's been in the family forever. We should be done with the winter wheat within three weeks, before the 10th of August. We immediately switch to harvesting peas and lentils. which will take about a week, and then move to the spring wheats. We plant much less wheat in the spring, so it only takes a few days to bring in. Lastly, we finish the season in the garbanzo beans. Since everything is maturing a bit earlier this year than usual (mostly because of the lack of rain in June) we are predicting all crops will be harvested by the second week of September. Of course, there's no break as right away we'll prep for fall planting... goodness, there's no rest in this business!
Our overall outlook for the harvest season coming up? Kevin says he's feeling “ten out of ten. We’re so ready, and we’re gonna get it in the bin quick. We've got good contracts. I’m super excited, this is gonna be a great year."
Cheers, friends! See you in the next one.
