Author Archives: Trista Crossley

Chinese tariff on wheat hits farmers

Pacific Northwest farmers are bracing for serious losses in the Chinese market after the country announced its intentions to impose a 25 percent tariff on all U.S. wheat in reaction to tariff’s imposed by President Trump on Chinese goods. More than 12.5 million bushels of the region’s flagship soft white wheat class, have been shipped to China during the 2017/2018 ... Read More »

China’s response to new U.S. tariffs will hurt U.S. wheat farmers

From U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers With the announcement today that China intends to retaliate against the latest proposed U.S. tariffs, hard-working U.S. farmers are clearly in the line of fire from what looks more and more like an escalating trade war with China. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers ... Read More »

Crop Progress 04/02: Washington remained cool while planting progressed

From NASS There were 5.5 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 4 percent very poor, 15 percent poor, 50 percent fair, 29 percent good and 2 percent excellent. A low temperature of 22 degrees F was reported in the northeast region, while a high temperature of 69 was reported in the southeast ... Read More »

NASS predicts 2 percent increase in 2018 Washington wheat acreage

From NASS Washington state is estimated to have 2.23 million total acres planted to wheat in 2018, up 2 percent from last year. Winter wheat planted acres are expected to total 1.7 million acres for this year, unchanged from 2017. Spring wheat acres planted are estimated at 530,000 acres, up 7 percent from last year. Wheat producers in Idaho expect ... Read More »

National Wheat Foundation guest blog: Alex McGregor on the importance of trade

Hi, I’m Alex McGregor of The McGregor Company, a seventy- year old family fertilizer and crop protection enterprise, and of McGregor Land and Livestock, a ranch where we have raised wheat and livestock since pioneer days. (Editor’s note: Alex McGregor is a longtime advocate of agriculture in Eastern Washington. He served as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers ... Read More »

Crop progress report 03/18: A normal month for Washington

From NASS The statewide temperature differential for the month of March ranged from 4° F below to 2° F above normal. A low temperature was reported at 10° F in the northeast region. A high temperature was reported at 74° F in the western region. Washington had a normal March in terms of moisture and average temperature. Snow accumulation looked ... Read More »

Congress approves wheat growers’ request for $1 million in falling numbers research funding

For more than a year, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers has been working with a group of Pacific Northwest industry stakeholders and members of the region’s federal delegation to increase falling numbers research funding through an appropriations request. That request, $1 million to the Agricultural Research Service, was included in the Omnibus appropriations bill passed last week by Congress ... Read More »

Wheat grower organizations: Enforcing trade rules is best done within the rules

While U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) understand and support the need to enforce international trade rules, we are very concerned about the implications of the Trump Administration’s decision yesterday to impose more than $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. We agree that unfair ... Read More »

Legislative report 03/20: Summary of 2018 Legislative Session

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The 2018 Legislative Session was scheduled as a short, 60-day session, focused on passing supplemental budgets and addressing the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision mandating that the Legislature speed up funding basic education. The Legislature also had carry-over work from last session to complete, including finding a legislative fix to the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision and ... Read More »

Wheat researchers, farmers take to Capital Hill to discuss research priorities

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Today concluded the 2018 National Wheat Improvement Committee (NWIC) Fly-in, where more than 20 researchers and farmers from across the country visited Capitol Hill to discuss with members of Congress and their staff the importance federal funding of research to the wheat industry. The NWIC is comprised of 24 members representing regional public ... Read More »