Rain delays harvest

By Judith Kohler | Monday, July 12, 2004

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Associated Press Writer

DENVER - The rains have come too late for many of the area's drought-depleted wheat fields and have even created a new aggravation for some farmers - a delay in the harvest.

But the rain has raised hopes that the parched ground will recover a little by fall, when the next winter wheat crop will be planted.

Before the rains this week and last, Colorado was on pace for one of its earliest harvests in at least two decades because the hot, dry weather had quickly aged the wheat. Farmers in the state's far southeast corner began cutting last week but had to stop when the storms hit.

Farther north, eastern Wyoming farmers planned to start harvest the first of July, two weeks earlier than usual. Marti Hubbs of Wyoming Wheat Growers Association said everything depends on the weather.

Rain interrupted the harvest in parts of Kansas. Cooler weather slowed the premature ripening of crops in Nebraska.

In Montana, the rains were a little more timely because the harvest starts later there - usually the third week in July.

"The winter wheat crop around here looks pretty good because it's gotten the rain," Lola Raska, policy associate of Montana Wheat Growers Association, said.

Despite the moisture, wheat growers regionwide are expecting below-average crops because of a lingering drought that has dried the soil and reduced the number of bushels per acre produced.

Collards' statewide production is expected to total 54 million bushels - down 30 percent from last year. The 2.3 million acres planted in the fall was the smallest since 1957, according to the Colorado Wheat Growers Association.

Although the rain has held up harvest, it shouldn't create problems unless it persists for a while, according to Darrell Hanavan, the association's executive director. Fungus can develop if there's too much moisture, but Hanavan has seen that only twice in his 22 years with the association.

The rain can be a big boost if it continues through July and August, Hanavan said. Even then, the drought-drained soil won't recover completely.

The rain that fell on Swanson's farm in the Walsh area soaked the soil a bit but brought something he didn't need: hail.

"We got drought and a freeze and then hail," he said. "It's just like it's not meant to be."