On Feb. 6, Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Brad Finstad (R-MN), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) reintroduced the Agriculture Export Promotion Act of 2025 to increase funding to the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) and help American farmers compete in global markets. “On ... Read More »

On Feb. 5, National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President and Altus, Okla., wheat, cotton, and pasture-land farmer Keeff Felty testified before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry during the “Perspectives From the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part 1” hearing. “As I enter my 40th year in farming, the agricultural economy is facing ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service The statewide temperatures for January were mostly below normal to normal for this time of year, with an area in central Washington having above normal temperatures. Producers in the western region reported freezing temperatures helping raspberry and blueberry plants progress into dormancy. In the central part of the state, little activity was reported in ... Read More »

Have you purchased your floor tile for the Washington Wheat Foundation annex? Money raised for this project will be used for the Ambassador Scholarship program, which grants $4500 and $5000 scholarships to high school students entering their senior year; research equipment grants at WSU; Ag in the Classroom; Northwest Natural Resources Institute; and the Washington FFA foundation. You can find information ... Read More »

From Farm Policy News Reuters’ Trevor Hunnicutt and Kevin Krolicki reported that “China imposed targeted tariffs on American imports on Tuesday and put several U.S. companies, including Google, on notice for possible sanctions, in a measured response to the sweeping duties on Chinese imports imposed by President Donald Trump.” “Beijing’s limited reply to Trump’s imposition of a 10% tariff on ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers  Friday, Jan. 30, was day 21 of the 105-day legislative session. There are 84 days to go. The third week brought another hectic week for the Washington State Legislature. The flurry of new bill introductions has not slowed, and as of Jan. 31, 1,442 bills in total have dropped. The focus ... Read More »

From farmdocdaily On Dec. 21, 2024, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law, the American Relief Act of 2025. That Act extended the 2018 Farm Bill into 2025, resulting in another year of farmers facing the decision between Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) for commodity program support. Farmers have until April 15 to ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The 2025 Legislative Session kicked off on Jan. 13, 2025. As this is a “long session” year, the session is expected to last 105 days, ending on Sunday, April 27, 2025. There are a lot of new faces in Olympia. This is the first time in 12 years that Washington state has a new governor ... Read More »

From fox13seattle.com For years, Washington State has been losing two farms per day, and the impact of the Climate Commitment Act is making it even harder for some to survive. The Washington Farm Bureau says the Climate Commitment Act, which passed in 2021, is now disproportionately impacting small farms. If the system worked as intended, farmers wouldn’t have been negatively ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Legislation proposed by Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., is designed to preserve and protect the four lower Snake River dams. The Northwest Energy Security Act directs the federal Columbia River power system to operate in alignment with the “2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement Record of Decision,” which found that ... Read More »