Idaho Farmers Face Unpredictable Harvest Season

Area farmers have had a mixed bag of results for their crops this year. Despite last winter's unusual weather patterns, which included higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-average rain and snowfall, the winter wheat crop has been surprisingly good.

Doug Finkelnburg, University of Idaho extension educator for Nez Perce County, said that 'so far, with the exception of a catastrophic hailstorm in the Greencreek corridor, which devastated acres on both sides of it, other than that, the winter wheat has been very good from what I'm hearing from folks.'

Wheat yields are above average, but cooler temperatures and rain in late May and early June slowed down the harvest start to a more typical timeline.

The hailstorm on July 16 swept across nearly 2,500 acres, causing over $1 million worth of damage. Total losses are expected to rise as canola and other spring crops are calculated.