The Story of Eastern Washington Wheat

 


By Scott Yates

Scott Yates is the director of communications and producer relations for the Washington Grain Commission

Eastern Washington's warm days and cool nights allow farmers to grow five of the six classes of wheat raised in the United States: Soft white, hard red winter, hard red spring, hard white and durum.

The only class not grown in Washington is soft red winter, a type of wheat mainly found east of the Mississippi River. The predominant wheat class grown in Washington – about 77% of the state's acreage – is soft white. A subclass of soft white is club wheat, which is used in a blend with soft white to form the western white blend sold primarily to those pacific rim customers interested in specialty products.

Soft white is a low-protein wheat used in cakes, cookies, biscuits and crackers in the U.S., and in sponge cakes, steam breads, noodles, biscuits and crackers overseas.


Between 85 and 90 percent of the Washington's wheat is exported, owing to the state's prime location on the west coast, within easy shipping distance to pacific rim customers. Depending on the year, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea have been the largest purchasers of soft white.

An increasing amount of the state's production is going into Latin America. The state's hard wheat production – both hard red winter and hard red spring – is among the best in the nation, grown both under dryland conditions and under irrigation in the fertile Columbia Basin.

Hard white wheat is grown on limited acreage to serve Archer Daniels Midland's flour milling operation in Spokane. A smattering of durum wheat is grown under contract.


Farmers in Washington also grow several types of barley: feed, malt and food types. Barley for feed commands the largest acreage, but beer brewers – especially small craft brewers – are discovering Washington's unique production. The state is also on the leading edge of growing hull-less types of barley for use in various foods. Barley has been designated a heart-healthy ingredient.

Washington State is unique for the number of micro-climates that exist throughout its grain-growing region. Wheat can be found planted in areas that receive eight inches of precipitation to 25 inches of precipitation. Unlike most states, the bulk of Washington's precipitation comes during winter, which makes it highly unlikely that rain will fall near or during harvest and compromise the integrity of the crop.


The WGC divides the state into three regions: dry, intermediate and wet. The rolling hills of the Palouse near the Idaho Border receive 20 plus inches of precipitation annually. Whitman County, located in the heart of the Palouse, is known to be the largest wheat-producing county in the U.S.

An area around Walla Walla near the Oregon border also receives nearly that much precipitation and is very productive. The vast majority of Washington's acreage, however, is in the dry and intermediate zone, from 10 to 15 inches of precipitation. Much of this land is summer fallowed – that is, the land is allowed to rest a year between crops to accumulate moisture. Harvest usually begins soon after the Fourth of July in the driest areas of the state, and is finishing by the second week in September.


Wheat provides 20 percent of the world's caloric consumption, and for the world' poorest 50 percent, 20 percent of their consumption too.

Flour comes in two general types. Refined flour is made up of the wheat kernel's endosperm, and doesn't include the bran or germ. Whole wheat flour includes the endosperm, bran and the germ. In research studies, whole wheat is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and cancer as, well as a reduced risk of obesity and better weight control

Over 60% of the local wheat crop moves by way of the Snake/Columbia River barge system. Another 35 percent moves by train. An important short-line rail industry serves as a feeder system to both barge and major rail shipping terminals.

All of the crop must move by truck, for a distance, to reach barge and train loading terminals. The capability of shipping their crop to market by train or by barge helps discipline the prices either can charge. The 360-mile-long navigation system starts in Lewiston, Ida., and brings barges filled with wheat to Portland, where they are unloaded at exporters and reloaded on vessels heading overseas.

BNSF Railroad is the primary rail service in Washington, and there are now two unit train loading facilities which can handle 110-car trains in the state with a third under construction. These facilities make loading more efficient.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/21/2024 21:55