Oregon Public Broadcasting

Recent dark skies and cold temperatures in the region were more than a nuisance. The inclement weather delayed crops around the Northwest and the nation.

Growers say it’s the coldest spring in over a decade. Richland correspondent Anna King visited the Eastern Washington fields and has this report.

Alan Schreiber: "Right here. See how the okra doesn’t look very happy?"

On a steady wind, need-a-coat-day in June, Alan Schreiber toured me around his farm north of Pasco. He grows eggplant and other veggies for farmers markets and local subscribers.

Anna King: "You can’t even see it."

Alan Schreiber: "Yeah, it’s right here. It’s like four inches tall and it has two leaves. But you see even though we haven’t had any freezing temperature this can not stand cool weather. It’s a very warm season crop. It can not handle this cold temperature so we are in the process of losing our okra. Who ever heard of it being too cold to grow a crop in June in Washington?"

Across the Northwest crops that should be knee high are barely off the ground. That’s a problem. The crops can’t grow fast enough for farmers like Schreiber to get a good yield. With record grain prices and a world wide food shortage – losing any yield is bad news.

Alan Schreiber: "It’s almost like you can’t even talk about anything else until you talk about the impact of the cold weather. So this is impacting everyone and the longer it goes the grouchier all of us get."

As we walked around Schreiber’s farm we keep passing rows of tiny plants. Most worrying for Schreiber is his eggplant. He plants them three times, each a month apart. That’s supposed to yield a steady stream throughout the summer.

Alan Schreiber: "We’re supposed to have eggplant in the market by July 10th and we’re probably 50 days away from harvest in reality instead of 30 days. We are going to lose those sales. And they will be filled by California and Mexican eggplant."

Farmers are also worried that crops like potatoes will all come in at the same time, overloading processing houses.

It’s not just in the Northwest that farmers are having trouble. The same issues have been reported in the Midwest. About a half hour’s drive from Schreiber’s farm I met up with Chep Gauntt.

Chep Gauntt: "It’s just something that you have to accept. It’s something that happens with the farm."

Gauntt’s a large-scale hay farmer. He often flies his plane over his crops and those of others to get a look at how things are growing. This year hasn’t been good for hay growers, but with the record prices for hay – he and others will still be alright.

Chep Gauntt: "We’re still so much more fortunate that anywhere else I just, I am not that upset with it. We’re still going to make money this year. We may not going to make as much money. But we will make money. We will pay all our bills and have a little left over. Compared to some other areas we’ve got it made."

Still, it’s a good thing there’s sunshine in the weekend forecast. And longer term predictions of normal temperatures in July and August.