Idaho may be known for its potatoes, but its also known for its wheat, which is grown by local farmers and sent all over, including overseas.
“They work very hard and very long hours. It's really all up to Mother Nature whether they have success or not,” said Britany Hurst Marchant, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. “So, it's pretty incredible.”
Equally impressive is how often they help feed the world; particularly countries hobbled by famine, a pandemic or the current war in Ukraine.
“The wheat supply has not been as available to some of those countries that are in the most need of food,” said Marchant. “Over the past three years, we’ve sent more than a million metric tons in food aid.”
Marchant visits with Morning Edition host George Prentice to talk about Idaho’s current harvest, and how the wheat from Idaho fields ends up on tables around the world.
Read the full transcript below:
GEORGE PRENTICE: It's Morning Edition. Good morning. I'm George Prentice. There is so much change in the wind. Back to school, end of summer vacations. And it is a huge season for farming families across the region. And this morning, we want to spend a few minutes turning our lens to wheat. Brittany Hurst Marchant is here, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. Good morning to you.
BRITANY HURST MARCHANT: Good morning, George. Thank you for having me.
PRENTICE: Do I have this right? Is it… is it thousands of wheat growers in Idaho?
MARCHANT: Well, we say that there are about 2500 wheat growing families in Idaho and about 97% is family farms.
PRENTICE: I have to assume that's generational in many cases.
MARCHANT: Yes, most of the farms in Idaho are multigenerational family farms. So we have some century farms. So farms that have been farmed in the same families for 100 years or more. Here in the state. And then we have, of course, some farms who some farmers who are starting out and building their farms for their children as well for their future generations. And that is really the goal is, is to keep those farms and wheat and agriculture and all of the all that goes into that sustainable in Idaho by making those farms available for future generations.
PRENTICE: Do you have a sense of how this year's crop may be?
MARCHANT: Yeah, it's actually we had a really good winter in the in the southern half of the state. So lots of snow, lots of moisture, which is great for the wheat crop. Obviously it put a lot of moisture back in the soil for dryland farmers and it provided plenty of of moisture for irrigated farmers. About half of Idaho's farms are dryland wheat production and half are irrigated wheat production in northern Idaho. They were a bit dry. They're still considered in a drought- a D2 drought. This year they were about 3 to 5in behind average rainfall. So a little bit drier up there, which means yields will be down a little bit in northern Idaho, but they're above average in southern Idaho. So I think we'll balance out and have an average yielding year as far as quality. Idaho is very lucky to be able to produce very consistent high quality wheat. So we haven't had any concerns as far as quality protein levels, test rates, no disease pressure, anything like that. So we are a lot can happen between now and the end of harvest, but right now we're sitting in a really good place.
PRENTICE: Well, talk to me about harvest season. Is there a very particular window or does this roll out over months?
MARCHANT: It really rolls out over quite a bit of time. As you know, Idaho is very diverse. North to south. It's a big state, north to south. Lots of elevation changes and weather changes. So on a normal year harvest, wheat harvest usually starts in the Treasure Valley and the Lewiston area. Those places with lower elevation and warmer temperatures in early July and the probably so and then it moves north and south from there. So soda springs, for example, is one of the last places to finish up harvest, and that's usually September, sometimes late September. So it's over a few months statewide.
PRENTICE: We should note that we recently read of how Idaho and Washington farmers are providing some much needed aid in the form of wheat to other parts of the world where there is, quite frankly, an extreme food shortage. What can you tell us about that?
MARCHANT: Wheat makes up 20% of the calories consumed around the world. It's generally very available and an affordable source of protein and energy. Over the last three years, from COVID, and then the war in Ukraine, the wheat supply has not been as available to some of those countries that are in the most need of food.We have a definite problem in the world with food insecurity. So we recently sent a ship to the Middle East that was full of wheat from Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Over the past three years, we've sent more than a million metric tons n food aid, and over $1 million to help curb that hunger. It's really a testament of the goodwill of Idaho farmers, Washington farmers as well, and Oregon who see a need and do what they can to fill it.
PRENTICE: Can I assume that you grew up around Ag? You grew up in Mini-Cassia, right?
MARCHANT: I did. I grew up in the Burley area. My family did not farm, but definitely grew up around plenty of agriculture.
PRENTICE: You get to interact with all these families, right?
MARCHANT: That's part of what makes it so great…that the people in agriculture in Idaho are really just some of the very best people.They take incredible risks. They work very hard and very long hours. It's really all up to Mother Nature whether they have success or not. So, it's pretty incredible. Another cool thing about Idaho wheat is that 50% of our wheat is exported. I also get to work closely with consumers and buyers of Idaho wheat all around the world. It's really interesting to make the connection between the wheat in the fields in Idaho and the wheat on the tables in Thailand or Taiwan or Santiago, places like that.
PRENTICE: She is Brittany Hurst, Marchant, executive director of the Idaho Wheat Commission. And in the heart of an harvest season, we say thank you and thanks for giving me some time this morning.
MARCHANT: Oh, you're welcome, George. It was a pleasure.
Find reporter George Prentice on Twitter @georgepren
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