Ben Barstow started farming a little earlier the last few days.

“Especially with long days, you’ve got from 5 a.m. until 9 a.m., practically, before it gets too hot,” said Barstow, chairman of the Washington Grain Commission, a farmer in Palouse, Wash. “That’s four good hours of nice and pleasant weather.”

It was 101 degrees Fahrenheit a little before 5 p.m. on Barstow’s farm July 9. 

When it gets that hot, what does he do?

“Don’t work as long of hours as I used to,” Barstow said. 

The National Weather Service released an excessive heat warning in portions of north and north central Idaho and central and eastern Washington, running from July 6 through 10 p.m. July 10, with temperatures reaching above 100 degrees Fahrenheit July 8-10.

“Dangerously hot conditions during the day with little relief overnight,” the weather service stated. “Highs 100 to 108.”

Right on track

Across the Pacific Northwest, the heat likely won’t affect the overall wheat crop, industry leaders say.

“We do not anticipate any extensive impact to overall state quality given the timing and the limited duration, particularly when looking at the winter wheat crop,” said Oregon Wheat CEO Amanda Hoey. “A number of areas of the state are started with harvest, with additional coming on these next two weeks. It certainly accelerated activities the last week with the heat.”

“The winter wheat is past flowering, which would be a more vulnerable stage for a heat event,” said Casey Chumrau, executive director of the Washington Grain Commission.

An extended period of heat could impact some spring wheat areas that are earlier in the development stage, Chumrau said. Extended heat stress can trim yield in the flowering stage and increase protein in grain fill stages.

“The cooler temperatures throughout the spring and early summer were beneficial for grain development,” Chumrau said. “Warmer temperatures have sped things up, but we are right on track with the five-year average for overall wheat development.”

In Idaho, harvest has barely begun in lower elevations, while irrigation is ongoing in higher elevations, said Idaho Wheat Commission executive director Britany Hurst Marchant. Winter and spring wheat are both far enough along in maturity and development that the heat should not cause quality issues.

“Longer exposure to high temperatures at a less mature stage would be a concern, but we had good topsoil and subsoil moisture levels and, fortunately, have adequate irrigation available,” Hurst Marchant said.

Quick changes and spot spraying

Barstow raises wheat, spring barley and chickpeas. The heat changed the colors of crops quickly within two to three days, he said, even though harvest is still about a month away.

“The winter wheat is changing from green to ripe quickly,” he said. “Those spots where the soil’s thin, it’s all clay and the moisture’s hard to get out of the ground are going to have a little trouble filling because it’s so hot, but it’s hard to say overall.”

He also noted differences in his fields, depending upon when the winter wheat was planted.

“If it’s far enough long, it won’t hurt it a bit,” he said.

His spring barley was starting to show a little stress.

The only thing running on neighboring farms was “spot spraying,” spraying herbicide for perennials weeds, likely done by younger farmers on ATV-type vehicles using backpack sprayers, he said.

“We have a few hot 100-degree days like this in a row every year or every other year or so,” Barstow said. “It’s just really hard to guess what the actual impact is going to be until we get closer to harvest.”