From the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates Today’s signing of the renegotiated U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a welcome step toward a final agreement that will provide much needed reassurance for wheat growers and the entire U.S. agricultural industry. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) want to thank U.S. ... Read More »

WAWG is looking for volunteers to attend Olympia Days Jan. 20-22, 2020. We will be making a large number of appointments with various legislators and need county representation to make our meetings effective with clear messaging. Talking points are provided and all meetings have at least 2 grower members and/or staff. Please RSVP to Lori (lori@wawg.org) ASAP so that we ... Read More »

From the USDA Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on Dec. 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is Feb. 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Maia Bellon, the director of Washington’s Department of Ecology, has announced her plans to step down at the end of the year. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

By Trista Crossley While there was much talk of trade during the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, the importance of the Columbia-Snake River System was also on growers’ minds. Kristin Meira, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, gave a break-out session on the important role the river system plays in shipping products to market. She said lots of ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley One of the break-out sessions at the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention last month took a look at what’s happening on the policy front at the national level. Presented by Chandler Goule, CEO of the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), and Josh Tonsager, NAWG vice president of policy and communications, the presentation covered NAWG’s role; production ... Read More »

For Washington wheat growers, the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention was back on their home turf, taking place last month in Spokane at the Davenport Grand Hotel. Approximately 500 growers, agency representatives and industry supporters gathered to hear top notch speakers; establish guidance on industry concerns; and learn the latest on herbicide resistance, 2018 Farm Bill programs and other topics ... Read More »

From NASS There were 4.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 5.7 days suitable the previous week. The season was basically over for fall work in most counties, although harvesting of unflooded fall crops continued in Snohomish County, and some corn had not been harvested in Columbia and Walla Walla counties. Typical fall conditions of rain ... Read More »

From DTN Jason Henderson, director of Purdue University Extension and former Federal Reserve economist, is tired of talking about the 1980s. “Where we’re at in the ag business cycle, it’s not the ’80s,” he told a national meeting of agriculture lenders. “In my mind, we’re smack dab in the middle of the 1990s and the long plateau.” Read the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press We have been skeptical that there could be Congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, before next year’s election given the great partisan divide between the White House and Congressional Democrats. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »