Farmers in Washington state lost at least $336 million to the drought last summer, a preliminary estimate likely to climb as more figures on yields and prices became available, according to a report by the state Department of Agriculture, the Capital Press of Salem, Ore., reported.
The report estimated specific dollar losses for only a handful of crops — wheat, apples, blueberries and red raspberries.
Losses for other commodities, including Washington mainstays such as potatoes, milk and cattle, will be tallied later as information becomes available, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).
The report suggests the drought affected most growers. Nearly two-thirds who answered a WSDA survey said the quality or marketability of their crops suffered in the state’s first drought in a decade.
“I suspect in the final report the losses will be higher,” WSDA spokesman Hector Castro told the newspaper. “This early report confirms what a lot of people knew. The drought caused a lot of harm for farmers around the state.”
WSDA will issue a final report one year from now on the drought’s impact on Washington’s farm economy, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture calculated was worth $10.1 billion in 2014.
“This is an incomplete picture, and we know that it’s an incomplete picture,” Castro said. “We’re not through counting yet. A lot of commodity groups are not counted because the information wasn’t available.”
The report’s findings included:
- Wheat production was particularly hard-hit. The harvest was down 22% from the average yields over the previous five years. At recent prices, the lower yields could cost farmers $212.4 million. In 2014, USDA reported Washington’s wheat crop was worth $715 million.
- The apple industry estimated the drought or extreme heat reduced production by 280 million pounds. Based on 2014 prices, the lower yields represented a potential loss of $86.52 million. Apples were a $1.9 billion business in 2014. Early harvest varieties were most affected by water shortages and heat in the Yakima Valley. Apple growing regions to the north in Chelan, Okanogan and Douglas Counties were hurt less by the drought.
- Blueberries, grown primarily in northwest Washington, also lost production to the heat. Based on estimates from growers, the drought reduced yields by 8 million pounds, causing a loss in income of approximately $12 million.
- Red raspberries, also grown in the northwest corner of state, suffered a 26% decline in production. The lower yields cost farmers an estimated $13.9 million.
- Cherries and pears, two of Washington’s top 10 crops, were harvested early because of high temperatures in Central Washington and the Columbia Basin. The crops, however, sustained little damage.
- Some 460 growers were asked whether the drought and heat impacted the quality or marketability of their crops. About 65% said they had.
- One-third of growers said they spent money for drought-relief measures such as cloth shades, sprinklers or more efficient irrigation equipment.
The preliminary assessment did not try to put a figure on how much farmers spent to cope with drought.
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