A drought emergency was finally declared Wednesday for 39 counties in Washington state. However, for most wheat growers in our state, it may too little too late, since crops that could have used emergency water a month ago are now extremely dry.

Back in mid-June, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and the Washington State Grain Commission requested a drought emergency declaration to help wheat growers respond to the dry conditions, particularly in Eastern Washington.

That request was denied by the Washington State Department of Ecology in a letter that stated:

“By their nature, dryland producers do not depend on irrigation to grow their crops. According to the state Department of Agriculture, less than 8 percent of Washington wheat is irrigated. For this reason, a state drought emergency declaration would not be particularly useful for wheat growers, and we have no plan to recommend one at this time.”

A drought emergency declaration, among other things, enables farmers to apply for an emergency temporary transfer of water rights. Any number of wheat growers, including dryland farmers, may well have water rights that could have been transferred to their driest fields in mid-June when their initial request was made.

The declaration states it “authorizes Ecology to take certain measures for the purpose of providing emergency drought relief: expedite processing for emergency drought permits; process temporary transfers of water rights …” The authority to give farmers the opportunity to attempt to salvage their crops is something that should have been recognized before some of Washington’s wheat crop had withered beyond saving.

Now, a month later, fields have dried prematurely, and harvest is beginning in parts of Washington that usually do not see wheat harvested before Aug. 1.

The state’s denial letter puts the lack of investment in agriculture into stark relief. Farmers reached out at a time when they could still apply water to their crop but, instead, received a delayed response in the form of a drought emergency declaration a month later, when water transfers would be of little use.

Our state’s myopic focus upon climate change has blinded it to the needs of many communities, including the farmers and ranchers who live and work here. Washington’s wheat growers with the water rights and infrastructure in place, deserved the chance to apply for temporary water right transfers to try to save their yields and fields.