Price rise too late for some Palouse wheat growers

The price for soft white wheat is nearly $6 per bushel at Portland after months in the $4 to $5 range. Pacific Northwest Farmers Co-op CEO Sam White told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News that many Palouse growers have already sold most of their recent harvest and only 10 to 15 percent of the crop remains. Many growers had held off selling throughout the winter in the hope the per-bushel price would rise and offset increased production costs for fuel and fertilizer. Most growers finally reached a point where they felt they needed to sell, White said. Garfield farmer Rich Olson said he is still holding back a considerable amount of his harvest in the hope the price will continue to rise. In a normal year Olson said the current prices would be considered good, but last year’s fuel and fertilizer prices are still undercutting this year’s profits. Last August, soft white wheat was selling in the $8-per-bushel range. But forecasts of international markets led to a gradual drop in price to the $4 range in October.