Wildfire smoke adds a new threat to Idaho farmers and wineries already struggling through drought.
It’s been a difficult year for Idaho farmers, and now wildfire smoke is creating another challenge during a season already strained by drought conditions across the state.
Fourth-generation farmer Neil Durrant says this year feels like “a one-two punch” for growers trying to protect crops and make it through harvest season.
Durrant works the fields at Big D Ranch in Ada County, where dry conditions have already made farming more difficult. Now, thick smoke drifting into the Treasure Valley could create problems later in the growing season.
WATCH | See how smoke is hitting Idaho farmers—
“It’s just going to be an interesting year to see how farmers pull through,” Durrant said. “We are resilient, and we have done it for hundreds of years, but there’s times that it breaks people.”
While riding through his fields, Durrant explained that smoke can reduce the amount of sunlight reaching crops. That means plants receive less energy for photosynthesis, slowing their growth.
“Crops start growing slower,” he said. “Crops need the sunlight, the photosynthesis to grow. It doesn’t stop them, but it grows slower.”
That slower growth could create bigger problems by harvest time. If crops are delayed too long, farmers risk losing quality before they are ready to harvest.
The concerns are not limited to Ada County farms. In Canyon County, wineries are also watching the smoke closely as grapes continue ripening.
At Huston Vineyards, Farm Manager Josh Alger says wildfire smoke can lead to what growers call “smoke taint,” a condition that affects the flavor and quality of wine grapes.
“Smoke taint is what we call it in grapes,” Alger said. “It’s not really a sought-out thing. People have tried to market it, edge it; it’s just not always a sought-out thing, so as best we can we try to mitigate that.”
But mitigation options are limited, leaving many growers waiting and hoping conditions improve.
“Smoke taint is not covered in most of these ag insurance programs,” Alger said. “So if your crop has smoke taint in them, they are like, ‘well nothing we can do.’ It wasn’t a rain event, it wasn’t a hail event, there wasn’t a tornado.”
For many Idaho farmers and vineyard owners, the smoke is becoming another unpredictable obstacle in an already difficult growing season.
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been, in part, converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
