With temperatures expected to hit 60 degrees F today in the southern Columbia Basin, near Pasco, WA, a few planters are seen making their way through fields.
The area has experienced a mild winter and growers are anxious to get potato seed in the ground to cash in on early crop prices.
While consultants and other crop advisors are urging growers to hold back because of the possibility of continued cold weather, some do not mind going ahead.
While it may be just a week or two early to be planting potatoes in the Basin, it isn’t too late to get Arctic blasts that have been hammering other sections of the country.
The seed will just sit in the ground if it’s cold, one consultant explained. Growth really doesn’t start until they get emergence. And they don’t get emergence without warm soil temperatures, he stated.