05 July 2021
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Record heat takes its toll in NW-US
RECORD heat across the Northwest US is taking a toll on crops and workers who are harvesting them.
Potatoes, a valuable Northwest crop, are growing in weird shapes, making them hard to cut into fries.
In an OPB report, Anna King (Northwest News Network) spoke to growers who said the heat is causing some tubers to sprout knobs or grow into dumbbell shapes.
Mike Pink farms near Pasco, Washington. He says some farmers might not even be able to keep their crops going if they were struggling at all before the heat wave.
“This heat is going to take the life out of some of these potatoes that were a little more stressed,” he said. “Or maybe they’re not going to live as long. So their life cycle is going to end quicker, so they won’t produce the amount of potatoes at the end that they could produce.”
The National Weather Service forecasts the high temps above 100 to continue for large parts of the Inland Northwest.
Source: www.opb.org
