The annual harvest is a major cash crop for the four-county area including Wasco, Gilliam, Sherman, and Morrow counties, which produces close to half of the 50 million bushels of wheat in Oregon. Cody Darnielle reported that 150 deliveries were made on Monday, July 15, in The Dalles as harvest moves into full swing.

The Soft White Wheat harvest is serving up a little heartbreak this July as farmers are cutting into their fall crops to find wheat heads yielding around 50 percent of a normal year. A smaller harvest and depleted supplies from record sales last year could mean a bounce in price though.

Soft white wheat prices in the mid-Columbia hit $7.65 per bushel yesterday and were still sticking there this morning, according to Mid Columbia Producers cash bid.