WAWG
The past 12 months have brought a poor harvest, drought, fires and fights (the political kind, mostly). Through it all, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) leadership team, executive board and committee chairs and staff, have spent countless hours on the phone participating in conference calls with state agencies and contacting our federal delegation to ask for support on issues important to our industry. They’ve spent many more hours in meetings, traveling to conferences and working with other industry stakeholders to promote agriculture both at home and abroad. Leadership and staff organized a three-state grain convention and grower education workshops and seminars. They also talked themselves hoarse at farm fairs across the state, not to mention the time spent at agriculture shows and other ag-centric events.
Here’s a quick look at just some of the things your WAWG leadership and staff did throughout the past year (July 2015 through June 2016) and some of the issues they dealt with:
July 2015
While it happened on the last day of June 2015, its impacts reverberated throughout the year. Just one day before a partial shutdown of the state government was slated to happen, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the 2015-2017 operating budget, as well as a transportation revenue package. WAWG’s priorities for the upcoming year fared well in the new budget, including $47 million for PCC shortline rail rehabilitation over the next 16 years; funding for the design phase of Washington State University’s (WSU) new plant sciences building; extension of ag-related tax incentives; and support for the Voluntary Stewardship Program. WAWG had lobbied extensively for these priorities during their visit to Olympia several months prior.
WAWG Public Relations Chair Marci Green, Executive Director Michelle Hennings and Outreach Coordinator Lori Williams attend a meeting of Washington Farmers and Ranchers (WFR) in Ritzville where they discuss filming season 3 of Washington Grown.
Ritzville grower Mike Miller is installed as secretary-treasurer for U.S. Wheat Associates.
August 2015
Franklin County grower Chris Herron meets with a Risk Management Agency (RMA) pricing team from Kansas City to talk about the pricing differences between soft white and hard red wheats when RMA pays a claim. Currently, RMA pays all claims at soft white pricing.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule becomes effective. Almost immediately, many states and organizations file suit to stop the rule from taking effect. WAWG publishes a paper outlining the wheat industry’s concerns with the new rule.
Hennings and WAWG President Larry Cochran travel to Ellensburg to discuss federal legislative and regulatory issues with other Washington ag groups. The issues include port slowdowns; the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP); GMO labeling; WOTUS; and bee health. The group decides to assign members to monitor specific issues and report back to the group. Hennings joins Washington Grain Commission (WGC) CEO Glen Squires as captain for TPP, while Hennings also volunteers to helm the WOTUS issue.
September 2015
A new set of rules goes into effect for the Conservation Reserve Program as part of the 2014 Farm Bill. WAWG publishes a paper detailing those changes, including the reduced enrollment cap from 32 million acres to 24 million acres by FY2018, and outlining the organization’s concerns.
WAWG Natural Resources Chair Nicole Berg takes Washington wheat advocacy to a whole new state by traveling to Texas where she attends a town hall meeting with Rep. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. Berg urges Conaway to take quick action on reauthorizing the Grain Standards Act (GSA), which covers grain inspection services. Congress reauthorizes the GSA at the end of the month.
WAWG leadership attends the Association of Washington Business (AWB) 2015 Policy Summit. AWB is a coalition of businesses and organizations that monitors, protects and lobbies for Washington state’s economic prosperity. WAWG decides to become a member of AWB’s Steering Committee for Climate Oversight in order to have input on policy goals regarding topics such as clean air and carbon emission regulation.
October 2015
Williams attends a meeting of WFR and celebrates the premiere of Washington Grown’s third season.
Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Director Derek Sandison stops by the month’s board meeting to meet growers and answer questions. Sandison was appointed director by Gov. Inslee in June, replacing Bud Hover.
WAWG’s leadership team and executive director travel to Mt. Vernon, Wash., to attend a meeting with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (D-Wash) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack. TPP, the 2014 Farm Bill programs and the rural economy were all on the agenda.
WAWG releases a press release countering a flotilla protest advocating removal of dams on the Snake River. The press release contains statements of support for the dams from many Eastern Washington legislators.
Washington State Department of Ecology’s (Ecology) Ag and Water Quality Advisory Committee meets, with WAWG officers Cochran and Berg taking part. They discuss EPA’s direction to Ecology to identify best management practices for nonpoint source pollution in regards to water quality and Section 319 funding. They also discuss Ecology’s complaint response system.
In staffing news, WAWG hires a new lobbyist, Diana Carlen, a senior governmental affairs consultant from the firm Gordon Thomas Honeywell. Carlen is based in Tacoma and has advised the Washington State Senate Republican Caucus on legal and legislative issues and drafted legislation for caucus members. She also practiced law, focusing on land use and environmental issues.
October ends on a sad note as the wheat industry loses a long-time advocate. Scott Barr Jr., one of the founding members of WAWG and an early president (1961/62), passes away. He was 99.
November 2015
Early in the month, WAWG’s leadership team takes off for Lake Tahoe to take part in the National Association of Wheat Growers’ (NAWG) fall meeting.
Just prior to the 2015 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention a few weeks later, WAWG holds a strategic planning session for state and national priorities. The top state priorities are maintaining the ag tax preferences; resisting new conservation regulations, including a carbon emissions tax; and maintaining a safe and effective transportation system. Top federal priorities include preserving the current level of crop insurances subsidies in the next farm bill; advocating for trade legislation and policy; and maintaining and advocating for the Columbia-Snake River System.
November has education galore as wheat growers from Washington, Oregon and Idaho gather in downtown Spokane at the Davenport Grand Hotel for three days of meetings, workshops and keynote addresses at the 2015 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention. More than 500 wheat growers, industry representatives and stakeholders explore the connection between food safety and public perceptions of risk from Jack Bobo, senior vice president of Intrexon. They hear about the need for learning, growing and advocating in family businesses from motivational speaker Jolene Brown, and Mike Pearson, host of the television show, Market to Market, looks at what might be driving agriculture in the upcoming year. At Washington’s annual meeting, growers hear from agency heads, including Ben Thiel from RMA, Judy Olson from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Roylene Rides at the Door from the Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Also at the convention, Hallie Jo Galbreath and Taylor Kulm are named the 2016 Washington Wheat Ambassadors. A new slate of WAWG officers is also installed. Edwall grower Kevin Klein replaces Larry Cochran as president. Ben Adams of Coulee City moves into the vice president’s seat, while Fairfield grower Marci Green steps into the secretary/treasurer position.
Other convention honors were bestowed on Asotin County as the county of the year for its growers’ regular participation on county meetings, while Green, who farms in Spokane County with her husband, Lonnie, is recognized as WAWG member of the year.
December 2015
WAWG takes part in an Ag Policy Summit where carbon regulation, water storage bills, minimum wage increases, NPDES permitting and pesticide application notices are identified as key issues the industry needs to address.
Throughout the year, WAWG has been taking part in a WSDA pesticide workgroup seeking to streamline and simplify the state’s pesticide application rules. That group meets in December to discuss using Washington State University’s (WSU) Ag Weather Net to help in real-time weather reporting. WAWG is represented by Kahlotus farmer Brian Cochrane.
WFR meets in December to discuss an uncertain future due to less-than-anticipated funding and low membership numbers. Green, Hennings and Williams all attend.
Transportation committee members Ben Barstow and Ryan Poe attend the quarterly PCC Rail Advisory Committee meeting where they review the draft rail spending plan.
January 2016
Ecology releases their draft rule to cap carbon emissions. WAWG opposes mandatory caps and believes the best way to reduce carbon emissions is through voluntary measures.
Ritzville grower Bob Walli joins Williams at the Eastern Washington Ag Expo show in Pasco to promote the wheat industry by offering trivia and giveaways.
Because 2016 is a short legislative session year, WAWG’s Olympia Days takes place in January amid gray skies and heavy downpours. A group of nearly 20 growers and WAWG staff meet with more than 50 legislators and agency leaders in two days. The organization also hosts a legislative reception one night.
The 2016 winter series of the Agricultural Management and Marketing Organization’s (AMMO) kicks off at the end of the month. Down in Colfax, growers gather to learn about precision ag from Dr. David Mulla, who discusses using satellite imagery, drones and other tools to monitor crops.
February 2016
Setting their sights eastward, WAWG’s leadership team head to Washington, D.C., to visit with federal legislators at the beginning of the month. The group is able to meet with six congress members, including Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, as well as meeting with key staff from all of the legislators. They also meet with Brian Doherty, the negotiator in the Columbia River Treaty, to talk about how critical the river system is to the state’s wheat industry. While back in D.C., the group also takes part in NAWG’s winter meeting.
The main agenda topics at the February meeting of the WSDA’s pesticide workgroup are temperature cut offs, low volatile ester formulations of use-restricted herbicides and evening cut-off times.
WAWG helps fund a study, released this month, that quantifies the impact of last year’s port slowdowns. The study finds that the slowdowns cost Washington businesses approximately $769.5 million.
A score of WAWG members volunteer to man the organization’s booth at the Spokane Ag Expo. Expo attendees are able to enter a drawing for a free television by correctly answering a wheat-related trivia question.
Natural Resource Chair Berg takes part in a meeting of the Columbia Basin Partnership, where discussion centers around the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s support of the Endangered Species Act.
AMMO sessions wrap up this month. Randy Frazier talks about what ag leaders need to know when serving on boards. Ken Mattson presents a workshop on SPCC fuel containment compliance, while Randy Allen focuses on marketing and how investment money affects commodity prices. Farm Family Coach Elaine Froese shares tips and tools to discuss the “undiscussabull” with family members.
Green and Randy Suess, a retired grower from Whitman County, represent wheat at the All Ag Day in Olympia where they visit with legislators and legislative staff. Hot topics include GMOs and gluten.
Three members of Washington state’s federal delegation are honored by NAWG for their support of the U.S. wheat industry. Sen. Cantwell is named the 2015 Wheat Leader of the Year, while Sen. Murray and Rep. Dan Newhouse are both chosen as recipients of the 2015 Wheat Advocate award. In addition, one of Rep. Newhouse’s staff members, Kyle Kunkler, is named a 2015 Friend of Wheat.
Also being honored this month is Franklin County grower Brian Cochrane who is appointed to the USDA’s Agricultural Air Quality Task Force. The group will review research on agricultural air quality, promote intergovernmental coordination in establishing agricultural air quality policy and ensure that air quality conservation practices supported by USDA are based on peer-reviewed research and are economically feasible for producers.
March 2016
WAWG starts preparing for the 2018 Farm Bill by asking growers to complete an online survey. Sixty-six percent of respondents say they are happy with the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, with 58 percent saying protection against price risk is more important than protection against production losses.
Officers and staff head to the Big Easy to take part in the 2016 Commodity Classic where they also participated in NAWG’s committee meetings. Besides serving Washington wheat growers, several members of the executive committee also serve on NAWG committees. Adams sits on the environmental and renewable resource committee. Berg sits on the budget committee. Green sits on the domestic trade and policy committee, while Klein sits on the joint international trade policy committee.
While at the Commodity Classic, WAWG President Kevin Klein recognizes outgoing NAWG President Brett Blankenship, who also happens to be a Washington wheat grower from Washtucna, during the President’s Reception.
WAWG welcomes two new board members at the month’s board meeting. Jim Baye, a farmer from Reardan, will be representing Lincoln County, while Dan Schmitz will be representing Spokane County.
WAWG takes part in a conversation on pesticide drift headed by Washington Friends of Farms and Forests. The group determines that the numbers published by state agencies don’t tell the whole tale and that ag needs to start taking a bigger role in the conversation.
Transportation Committee Chair Poe takes part in the quarterly meeting of the PCC Rail Advisory Committee, along with Williams. They hear operation and maintenance updates. Grant opportunities are also discussed.
Leadership attends an AWB climate committee meeting where the group discusses investing in an economic research analysis of I-732, the carbon initiative that will appear on the fall ballot.
Farm Fair is in full swing in Kennewick for Green and Williams. Over two days, they speak to approximately 1,300 5th grade students, their teachers and some chaperones. WAWG members Dennis Simmelink and Jullie Cain also help out.
It’s a mixed agenda at the meeting of Ecology’s Agriculture and Water Quality Advisory Committee in Airway Heights attended by Berg, Hennings, Green and Cochran. Topics discussed range from frivolous complaints and nonpoint pollution plan funding to Ecology’s intent to send warning letters to some southeast Washington producers.
April 2016
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash) swings through Eastern Washington to meet with growers. WAWG is represented by two past presidents, Cochran (2014/15) and Barstow (2010/11).
Hennings continues to work with other Washington ag groups on state and federal issues affecting agriculture. At their April meeting, the groups discuss TPP and the Columbia River Treaty, as well as pesticides, carbon regulation and the 2018 Farm Bill.
WAWG hosts a roundtable discussion with USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor. She brings with her Judy Olson from FSA and Ben Thiel from RMA to discuss trade and answer growers’ questions.
May 2016
To address some growers’ concerns about WSU banning saving of seed on recently released varieties that collect royalties, WAWG invites Rich Koenig, WSU associate dean and director of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, and Dana Herron, a Washington Grain commissioner and owner of Tri-State Seed in Connell, Wash., to address the issue at this month’s board meeting.
Visits by the state’s federal delegation don’t stop, as aides from both of Washington’s senators stopped by the grain commission office to meet with staff of WAWG and the WGC.
The Farm Fair train rolls through Spokane, with Green, Williams and Suess speaking to approximately 1,100 grade school students about wheat farming.
Williams and Green are also able to reach out to older students at the Washington State FFA Convention where WAWG hosts a booth. The wheat ambassador program is discussed, and students are able to test their wheat knowledge with a trivia game.
June 2016
This month marks the start of the crop tour season. Many counties also hold summer meetings at the same time, including Adams, Benton, Douglas, Grant and Spokane counties. Members of WAWG’s leadership, as well as county presidents and board members, attend to give updates on WAWG’s activities.
Green, Hennings and Carlen attend an AWB Climate Stakeholder meeting that is conducting research and analyzing potential impacts from the Clean Water Act and I-732.
Hennings and Green take part in a meeting with wheat industry leader Alex McGregor to discuss the best avenues for promoting Washington state agriculture. Social media tops the list, and the website washivore.org was discussed as an avenue to educate legislators.
Growers from across Eastern Washington gather at the annual Lind Field Days to hear the latest on WSU’s research and breeding programs. Hennings gave an update on WAWG’s recent activities.
Hennings attends the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association’s summer conference in Walla Walla where they discussed transportation issues on the Columbia-Snake River System, including the upcoming lock closure.
WAWG holds its annual Wheat College in Davenport. Life in the Soil is the topic, presented by Dr. Elaine Ingham.