10/04/05 New livestock auction: Wash 4th in wheat

Washington Ag October 4, 2005 Washington's newest livestock auction yard is set to hold its first cattle sale tomorrow. Larry Campbell is a partner in the Central Washington Livestock Market in Moses Lake. Campbell: "On the fifth we are going to have our first cattle sale and every Wednesday we'll have a cattle sale. And there will be small animals, goats, pigs and sheep if people want to bring them also during the cattle sale. And then on the 8th we're having our first horse sale. And that's the second Saturday and I have second Saturday's for special sales. And then every third Saturday we're going to have a horse sale. Due to closures in recent years there were only two other livestock auction yards in eastern Washington, in Toppenish and Davenport. Washington's wheat production this year is ranked fourth in the U.S. behind Kansas, North Dakota and Montana. The Agriculture Statistics Service says Washington's crop totaled 139.3 million bushels, three percent less than in 2004. Most of the wheat grown in the state is winter wheat and the Statistics Service says average winter wheat yields this year were 67 bushels an acre, the same as last year. The agency also says that 92 percent of the state's 2005 winter wheat crop was white wheat. Only eight percent was hard red. Soft white wheat prices meanwhile, are about 30 cents a bushel less than last year at this time. I'm Bob Hoff.