'Wither away and die:' U.S. Pacific Northwest heat wave bakes wheat, fruit crops

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An unprecedented heat wave and ongoing drought in the U.S. Pacific Northwest is damaging white wheat coveted by Asian buyers and forcing fruit farm workers to harvest in the middle of the night to salvage crops and avoid deadly heat.

The extreme weather is another blow to farmers who have struggled with labor shortages and higher transportation costs during the pandemic and may further fuel global food inflation.

Cordell Kress, who farms in southeastern Idaho, expects his winter white wheat to produce about half as many bushels per acre as it does in a normal year when he begins to harvest next week, and he has already destroyed some of his withered canola and safflower oilseed crops.

The Pacific Northwest is the only part of the United States that grows soft white wheat used to make sponge cakes and noodles, and farmers were hoping to capitalize on high grain prices. Other countries including Australia and Canada grow white wheat, but the U.S. variety is especially prized by Asian buyers.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wither-away-and-die-us-pacific-northwest-heat-wave-bakes-wheat-fruit-crops/ar-AAM3ePZ

[roamer65]

1. In 20-30 years, you will eat what u can get in stores.

There will be a lot less variety and a lot more shortages and definitely high prices.

We won’t be as picky and choosy.

[Wounded Bear]

2. Probably a lot quicker than that...

Just sayin'

[roamer65]

3. I'm trying to be optimistic.

But it very definitely could be sooner.

But most of us now see what’s coming.

The human race is living on borrowed time now.

[Wounded Bear]

4. Eastern Washington is already semi-arid, desert adjacent territory...

Agriculture won't thrive without the rivers running through the area, and they're all getting lower and lower.

It's a smaller version of what's happening to the Colorado River watershed. It's farther north, but still, rainfall is normally low because of the Cascade Mountains, and snowpacks have been suffering for years as reservoirs drop lower and lower.

[roamer65]

5. Snake River area?

[Wounded Bear]

10. That would be more Southeast Washington, but still applies...

It's all in the Columbia River Watershed, and all east of the mountains, so not abundant rainfall to begin with.

[Grasswire2]

6. Rainier has lost 30 percent of its snow pack already this season.

Trouble ahead.

I live next to a major river. Guess I'd better buy myself a bucket.

[roamer65]

7. Wow.

Not good.

Definitely, not good.

[-misanthroptimist]

9. I think it will be slightly less than that, but...

...not a big enough difference to quibble about.

We who live in the rich countries will simply pay a lot more for our food...while there's enough left to go around. Poor countries will have a much harder and uglier time of it. Food shortages are one of the two ways I see our civilization unraveling.

The other way is water shortages. The depletion of the Himalayan glaciers almost certainly will lead to confrontations between China, India, and Pakistan -all of whom are nuclear armed. The Himalayas are not the only water source in danger, of course, and numerous conflicts around the world will result.

The bill for the true cost of fossil fuels is coming due. It is unlikely that we can cover the payment and remain solvent.

[abqtommy]

8. The terms "white wheat" and "soft white wheat" are new terms for me. It's not unusual for

Last edited Mon Jul 12, 2021, 02:48 PM - Edit history (1)

me to learn new things every day and I'm just sad that it's due to the way our hot weather is impacting
agricultural products.

So far I've found that the "soft white wheat" is a fairly recently developed strain of wheat whose domestication stretches back to at least 9,000 BC.

[Tree Lady]

11. Lost 2 trees even with lots of watering

And other trees, bushes and flowers have brown leaves.

The trees I lost were newly planted in April doing fine until 3-4 weeks of 100 degree weather.