Winter Wheat Worries

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Story Published: Feb 16, 2009 at 6:23 PM PST

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

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KENNEWICK-- Wheat farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature, hoping December's cold snap and low moisture levels won't wreak havoc on their crops.

"It is kind of scary because you don't really know until the spring comes along and it starts growing again how much damage you have, if any," said fourth-generation farmer Carl Anderson.

Last year's regional yields were down 20 percent because of drought.

Fuel and fertilizer prices also hit farmers hard in 2008.

"Most of our fertilizer nitrogen, which affects our farmers, is imported, so it's a world market we're in now, instead of based on natural gas like it has been in the past," said WW Farmers Coop Branch Manager Joe Haverkamp.a

Haverkamp attributes last year's exponential rise in fertilizer prices to the import costs. He says most of the chemicals in fertilizer are made in countries with more lax environmental regulations.

But local farmers got some relief last year, due to their role in fulfilling a global wheat shortage. They saw record high wheat prices, which offset their skyrocketing production costs.

"The world planted as many wheat acres as they ever have to boost the supply, and that's basically what we're dealing with now," said Anderson. "Now it's still a short supply, but it's not near as short as it was a year ago."

All of these fluctuating factors affect the bottom line of Mike Jenner, a seed seller at Connell Grain Growers.

"There's kind of a hunker down attitude that happens, and I don't think you can blame the farmer," said Jenner. "At the end of the day, the object is to stay in business."

There's no doubt times are tough, but for Anderson, it's merely a bump on the road.

"You just kind of weather the storm and just keep going on," he said.

He and Jenner remain optimistic, and say what goes up, must come down, as risk factors are already starting to stabilize.

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