Economists estimate $220M in rain damage to crops

August’s record rainfall damaged an estimated $220 million of crops, according to a University of Idaho Extension report.

The estimate is preliminary and incomplete because more hay will be harvested. However, the losses so far are staggering.

Paul Patterson, an agricultural economist at the U. of I. Extension in Idaho Falls estimates hay losses of $85 million in south-central Idaho and eastern Idaho.

“Nobody ever likes to complain about getting rain, but the timing left something to be desired this year,” said Patterson. “It’s certainly had a negative impact on agriculture, and agriculture is certainly the lifeblood of Eastern Idaho.

He and two colleagues believe Magic Valley’s farmers took a $52 million hit, while Eastern Idaho’s missed out on $33 million.

“Hay is not the only crop to be severely impacted,” said Patterson. “The grain crop was just being harvested when the rain started.”

Between wheat and barley, eastern Idaho had an estimated loss of $100 million to $107 million, while Magic Valley’s losses are believed to be between $32 million and $36 million.

“Whether it’s grain trucks going down the road at harvest, or potato trucks pulling out of the field, you know, people tend to look at the crops that are in those,” said Patterson. “What they ought to be thinking about is those trucks full of dollars, and those dollars get distributed through the economy of eastern Idaho.”

Patterson says losses for farms ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even more than a million for some of the larger farms.