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Snow-covered farm fields extend outside Kendrick, Idaho. Farmers do not know what to plant this spring, as many of their traditional dryland crops are priced below the cost of production.
Anna King / Northwestern News Network
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Anna King / Northwest News Network
Snow-covered farm fields extend outside Kendrick, Idaho. Farmers do not know what to plant this spring, as many of their traditional crops in the drylands are priced below the cost of production at this time.
Anna King / Northwest News Network
On a recent rainy day, farmer Allen Druffel stands in front of a silo waving his feet in the gravel. It is in this garbage bin where he stores his dried beans in the small town of Colton, Washington. trucks should load and haul this year's harvest in international markets and ports. But in the middle of the afternoon, there is only rain.
Since farmers like Druffel have brought in this year's crops, virtually no chickpeas or chickpeas have been moved.
"Said Druffel," And we do not really know what we want to do with it. "
And times are bad for lentils and peas, and in the agricultural sector they are all legumes. Large US importers of pulses have imposed tariffs and have since been in silos.
Allen Druffel, 34, of Colton, Wash., stands in front of coop silos that hold him in. Chickpeas unsold. Last year, his harvest of pulses brought him 50 cents a pound, and the current price is 18 cents a pound – well below his cost of production.
Anna King / Northwestern News Network
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Anna King / Northwest News Network
34-year-old Allen Druffel of Colton, Wash., Stands in front of cooperative silos that contain his unsold chickpeas. Last year, his harvest of pulses brought him 50 cents a pound. Today, the current price is 18 cents per pound, which is well below its cost of production.
Anna King / Northwest News Network
Bitter Bumper
The real problems began early this year as the Trans-Pacific Partnership moved further into the United States. Next are the steel and aluminum tariffs of President Donald Trump. China and India are the two largest buyers of American chickpeas, peas and lentils, and these exports have virtually ceased. Other countries also refrain from buying them while prices are unstable.
Druffel saw the market fall only too late – after having planted the crop in the spring and then again after harvest.
"It was a bit of a roller coaster," says Druffel. "It was one of the best harvests we've ever harvested, and then seeing the price fall from 40% to 60% is really unfortunate, if you're talking in real numbers in February 2018, I sold chickpeas to 50%. cents a pound – and today, they are trading at 18 cents a pound. "
Dirk Hammond is an honest bean counter. He is an accountant at George F. Brocke & Sons, an exporter of grain legumes in Kendrick, Idaho.
"I tell people this year, I feel like the Grinch because of the prices," says Hammond. "And, you know, nothing we did as a society, neither producer nor owner, we did not do anything, it's just a circumstance of global politics and trade."
Dry beans sprinkled between Phil Hinrichs' fingers. Hinrichs Trading Co. prepares chickpeas for hundreds of products in national stores and exports them in bulk around the world.
Anna King / Northwestern News Network
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Dry garbanzo beans spread between the fingers of Phil Hinrichs. Hinrichs Trading Co. prepares chickpeas for hundreds of products on the shelves of national stores and exports them in bulk around the world.
Anna King / Northwest News Network
At Brocke & Sons, high-tech systems filter crops, sort straw and debris, and package legumes for shipment around the world. In the deafening factory, robots whistle and stack, stacking heavy bags of chickpeas on wooden pallets.
According to Mr. Hammond, this year's pulse crops were almost exhausted. Farmers had a lot of moisture for their drylands or rainfed crops. So they had very high quality and very good yields. And across the country, farmers have planted more garbanzos than ever before, increasing acreage from about 600,000 acres to 800,000 acres.
"A Real Disaster"
On the road to Moscow, in Idaho, Tim McGreevy is at the helm of the American Pulse Association. He represents grain legume producers across the country.
million. McGreevy said that he had never seen such a difficult market for nearly 25 years. He estimates that his legume growers have lost up to 500 million dollars.
"Describing this year as a bad year for export markets is a euphemism, it's a real disaster," says McGreevy.
So far, grain legume producers have not received a lot of subsidies. payments or government assistance. There are federal loans – and some farmers will have to take them to continue to operate while maintaining their crops, hoping that prices will be better by spring
In January and February, it is the bankers who will decide much of the farmers' lot. Most farms need to borrow operating cash for each year ahead to buy fuel, seeds and chemical fertilizers.
At the present time, the question is what to plant to recover these costs. Not much in arid areas is making money right now. Prices are equal to or lower than the production costs in this region for wheat, barley, rapeseed, lentils, shrubs and peas.
"There is not much to do right now, it's the absolute truth," says McGreevy.
McGreevy says that older farmers might decide to quit before the next round. But young farmers could give up the keys of the farm if things do not turn around in a few months.
"Young farmers generally have far more debt than they incur because they are just starting out in their careers," he says. "If they buy a property, with the prices we're seeing right now, it's very difficult to take advantage of it."
On the distant distance of the farmer Allen Druffel, the sky of a dirty white is indistinguishable from the earth. Just a 5-hour shade of wheat stubble coming out of the snow. Druffel is trying to avoid this year's disappointment and the risk of his family.
"No, it does not bother me," Druffel said in a low voice. "It's the game we chose to play, I do it because I love it."
A little more hurried, Druffel smiled. By dint of tears, he reluctantly admits:
"Oh, that strikes at home."
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