A cool, wet spring followed by a quick change to high, dry temperatures in July had both positive and negative impacts on this year’s crop, and now it all really depends on what the fall season holds.

“It’s been a very difficult, challenging year for agricultural crops and producers this year,” said Jeremiah Vardiman, a University of Wyoming Extension educator. 

The cool, wet spring had the biggest impact on crops, for cold weather crops like hay and malted barley it was mostly a good thing, although Vardiman said that the cool and rainy weather did negatively affect the quality of the hay when it was harvested.

The quality was impacted by harvest timing and precipitation. The wet weather also delayed the hay’s initial cutting, which prevented producers from harvesting when the nutritional quality was at its peak. Once it was harvested Vardiman said the producers faced a challenge getting the hay swathed, dried and baled without encountering rain. 

The rainy weather also led some crops to be planted late and even those who were able to plant on time experienced difficulty performing field chores. 

Barley

Judy Gillett, grower relationship manager at Briess Malt and Ingredients Company, agreed that barley likes a cool environment but said that the inability of growers to manage their fields has led to problems.

“I think the crop itself as far as yields and everything, it’s going to be an average crop … for the guys that got it in early, possibly above average, but for the guys that were later with it and had trouble getting in to do the weed spraying I think they’ll have kind of a challenge here,” Gillett said.

She added that in some fields there has been a “double crop” that came as a result of growers irrigating during dry weather, but this was quickly followed by the rainy season. This meant one crop was started by irrigation and another by rainfall and they grew at separate rates.

“If the crop doesn’t catch up, they might have to wait on the green kernels so it might be a delayed harvest,” Gillett said. “Our harvest is probably delayed by a couple of weeks this year.”

Barley harvest for our area typically begins in the first week of August, Gillett said.

Beans and corn

The wet spring season was not ideal for bean and corn crops but they are now filling out thanks to a quick weather change in July that brought high temperatures and direct sunlight, and the rain has now positively impacted the crops because it created good water conditions. Vardiman said these crops “need those warmer temperatures.” 

The biggest crop of concern is grain corn because “there just might not be enough of a year left,” Vardiman said. For dried beans the crop will depend on “a long warm mild fall” to allow pods to completely fill and be harvested without “high precipitation or freezing conditions.” Vardiman said that this would be the best conditions for the beans but this year will likely “not be the highest yielding crop year for us.”

“It’s already Aug. 1 and we don’t know what the fall holds,” Vardiman said.

If the area has a long fall it would lead to a longer period of growth and a better crop, he said. Vardiman also noted that the heat was a good thing for the crops, but it could prove to be a hard switch on the plants and cause growth stress. Other concerns will be a “big pest year,” that could include disease, insects and “weeds specifically,” as well as farmers needing to be careful not to over irrigate. 

Zac Taylor contributed reporting