Around the Valley: with Karen Huwe

"Phenomenal", "very good, best ever yields," and "fabulous, record yields" were statements received from area farmer's wives regarding this year's wheat harvest.

Early summer rains pushed back harvest time for two to three weeks. Farmers from Prescott, Waitsburg, Dayton, and the Colfax area are finishing up harvesting winter wheat and will soon harvest other crops, such as spring wheat, garbanzos, and lentils, and baling a second cutting of hay.

Fortunately, most farmers did not suffer any significant crop damage due to the recent thunderstorms. At the Abbey Farm, they received about half the...