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Cereal grains are planted in the spring on the Camas
Prairie. Winter
grains are generally not planted, in part due to snow mold, but
mostly due to winter kill.
Grains, for the most part, are grown only as a rotation
for alfalfa. Many
different soil types are found across the prairie.
A challenge to growers is the multiple soil types which
can be found within a single field, making planting difficult
due to the amount of moisture in the soil (wet spots) and making
harvesting difficult due to plants being at different
maturities. Many
growers wait until they can plant the wet spots located in the
field, which may be one to three weeks later than the optimum
time. In a dry land
situation timing is critical, especially in drought conditions.
Knowing these environmental limitations, growers must
know which varieties will produce better under Fairfield’s
diverse growing conditions.
Barley yields average
24bu/acre, dryland and 67bu/acre
irrigated. Wheat yields average 26bu/acre dryland and 53bu/acre
irrigated.
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