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June 24, 2016 CapitalPress.com 9 Berry production in California gaining ground after slow start By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press Capital Press ile Soft white wheat from last year’s crop with excess protein is bring- ing lower prices at some elevators. Elevators dock for too much protein in wheat By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press Farmers in the Paciic Northwest could receive a lower price for their wheat if it has too much protein. Connell, Wash., wheat farmer Chris Herron said he recently saw an unusual sight at local grain elevators. They are discounting 5 cents per bushel for white wheat that has more than 10.5 to 11 per- cent protein. “Anything over 10.5 to 11 percent, you lose a nick- el,” Herron said. “Eleven to 11.5 percent, you lose anoth- er nickel. First time I’ve ever seen it in 50 years.” “It’s not typical, but we’ve had so much high-protein wheat the last couple of years,” said Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission. “Very untypi- cal.” Many overseas buyers have a 10.5 percent protein maximum speciication. It’s unknown how high protein levels are in the this year’s wheat crop, as harvest has not yet begun, Squires said. “We’ve had better mois- ture this year, which would lend itself to a reduction in protein levels,” he said. “There could be some areas that have a higher protein.” Some farmers could begin harvesting in the drier areas of Washington the week of June 20. Squires believes many will begin the week of June 27, a week earlier than usual. Farmers could store their wheat until the discount is removed or the market allows higher protein levels. A farm- er can store grain for “quite a while,” Squires said. Many still have most of last year’s crop on hand, he said. Squires said he has no idea how long the discount could last. “In the past, there has al- ways been enough low-pro- tein generated we could always blend off or the ex- porters could make the high- er-protein stuff work, they could make the specifica- tions the customer wanted,” said Dan Steiner, Morrow County Grain Growers grain merchant. “But with the drought the last few years, it’s been tougher and tough- er to find low-protein premi- ums.” Steiner’s company is not discounting for higher pro- tein wheat or imposing other discounts. It is only purchas- ing 11 percent protein wheat from commercial compa- nies, he said. A company’s cash bid might include a lower protein requirement, which won’t be apparent until later on, Stein- er said. He advises farmers to pay attention beyond the cash bid. “This is not a normal thing, it is not a regular occurrence for soft white wheat,” Stein- er said. “They could ind out they inadvertently sold to the wrong elevator or got a differ- ent price than they intended.” The discount affects a farmer’s plans for marketing his wheat, Herron said. A farmer can’t do anything to change protein levels in his wheat. “I can’t go spray some- thing or pull something to make it go away,” Herron said. “It just is what it is.” DAVIS, Calif. — Fa- vorable spring weather has helped berry production in California gain ground after winter storms led to a slow start for the crops in 2016. Strawberry farms have pro- duced nearly 91.5 million lats statewide as of June 14, still off last year’s pace of 111.6 mil- lion trays in the same period, according to the National Berry Report. But production has been nearly equal to or higher than last year since April 30, when just 42.3 million crates had been picked compared to 61.5 million in the irst four months of 2015, the California Straw- berry Commission reports. “The volume has deinitely picked up,” said commission spokeswoman Carolyn O’Don- nell, noting that she sees berries being moved into coolers even in the early evening hours in the Monterey Bay region. “The weather has been beautiful here” in the past month, O’Donnell said. “We’ve had good warm days and cool nights for strawberries and this is the peak season, so they’re pretty much doing what we Tim Hearden/Capital Press Toni Ensz and Terri Mason sell blueberries for Caruthers, Ca- lif.-based Triple Delight Blueberries at a farmers’ market in Davis, Calif. The farm is having a “bumper crop” this year, Ensz said, although blueberry production statewide is lagging behind last year’s pace. would expect them to do this time of year.” The Santa Maria area has nearly caught up to last year’s production, having turned out 31.5 million lats as of June 14 compared to 35.8 million to date in 2016. Other berries have made similar gains. According to the National Berry Report: • Raspberry growers have produced nearly 9.9 million lats so far this year, below the 11.3 million picked as of this point last year. In mid-April, growers had only picked a lit- tle more than half the 4 million cartons produced at that point in 2015. • Blackberries in California are ahead of last year’s pace. Producers have put out 501,219 lats as of June 14, compared to 497,447 at the same point a year ago. • Blueberry production is still lagging behind, as 4.7 mil- lion lats were picked as of June 14 compared to 7.6 million by mid-June of 2015. But some farms, including Triple Delight Blueberries in Caruthers, Calif., are having a good year. “It’s been a bumper crop,” said Toni Ensz, who was sell- ing blueberries from the farm recently at a farmers’ market in Davis, Calif. “I think the weath- er has just been right for it in the Central Valley.” O’Donnell has said the in- dustry will have a better idea by October whether the season will be on par with previous years. Growers are trying to get by with fewer acres — an estimated 32,515 acres in 2016, down from the 37,438 estimat- ed acres last year and continu- ing a trend of annual declines from the 40,816 acres planted in 2013. “It’s always about the weather, and last year we got a really early start because we didn’t have any rain,” O’Don- nell said. 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