From the Capital Press President Donald Trump needs to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, an agriculture policy expert says. The president made an off-the-cuff remark when speaking with world leaders at the Davos, Switzerland, economic summit that he’d be willing to take another look at the deal, but it would have to be renegotiated and improved considerably for the ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG lobbyist Today marks the 23rd day of the 2018 Legislative Session. There are three days remaining until the first legislative deadline, Feb. 2, 2018, when all policy bills must make it out of their policy committee. The agriculture industry was out in force last week at the hearing on proposed legislation to require four days notice ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Last night, President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union Address as president. National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) CEO Chandler Goule provided the following statement in response: “While the president addressed many issues of importance to the American people, it was unfortunate that he did not focus more of his ... Read More »

From NASS January was warmer than usual for Washington state. Most of the state received excessive rain while only a few regions received snow, most of which were at higher altitudes. Some regions in the west reported up to 11.10 inches of rain, with most of the west reporting at least an extra inch of rain than usual. Most of ... Read More »

From Politico The high-stakes NAFTA talks appear to be finally headed on a slow-but-steady forward course, but negotiators remain under pressure to deliver quick results to alleviate the threat of President Donald Trump withdrawing from the pact. “We believe that some progress was made,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Monday during a closing press conference. “We finally began to ... Read More »

A group of Washington wheat farmers joined other growers yesterday in Olympia to testify in a Senate Labor and Commerce Committee public hearing on SB 6529, a bill that places unworkable restrictions and onerous reporting requirements on pesticide applicators. The bill would require a pesticide user to provide written notice of an intended pesticide application to the Washington State Department ... Read More »

Recently, organizations along the North American wheat value chain sent a letter to President Trump, President Peña Nieto and Prime Minister Trudeau, as well as with lead negotiators from each country, Ambassador Lighthizer, Minister Freeland, and Minister Guajardo, stressing the importance of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to the wheat industry. Ranging from seed to bread and baked goods, key ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The Washington State Legislature convened for the 2018 regular session on Monday, Jan. 8. In even calendar years, regular legislative sessions are scheduled for 60 days and are referred to as “short” sessions because the Legislature does not need to adopt the state operating budget, which occurs in odd-numbered years. During short sessions, the Legislature ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) are expressing concern that a revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that excludes the U.S. puts overseas demand for U.S. wheat at serious risk. “On Jan. 23, 2017, exactly one year ago, President Trump announced the United States would pull ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Fleets of trucks, lines of railcars and bustling ports send U.S. agricultural products to far-flung foreign markets each day. Last year alone, those exports exceeded $140 billion with a trade surplus of more than $21 billion. They also supported more than 1 million jobs to deliver those products around the world and generated $178.8 billion for ... Read More »