From NAWG This week, the National Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates submitted joint comments on trade agreements violations and abuses to USTR, per the April Executive Order, that have impacted U.S. wheat growers. In general, violations and abuses to wheat are due to domestic subsidies that exceed World Trade Organization commitment levels, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory standards, plant ... Read More »

From RMA The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington states to apply for crop insurance coverage for the 2018 crop year before the sales closing dates. Current policyholders who wish to make changes to their existing coverage also have until the sales closing dates to do so. Crop insurance is ... Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 11 percent very poor, 15 percent poor, 40 percent fair, 26 percent good and 8 percen excellent. A low temperature of 45 degrees F was reported in the northeast region, while a high temperature of 102 was reported in the southeast region. Statewide differentials ... Read More »

Sen. Judy Warnick (R-Moses Lake), sponsor and lead negotiator on the Senate bill overturning the Supreme Court’s Hirst decision and restoring the right of rural property owners to drill household wells, offered the following statement last week regarding House leaders’ refusal to act on the issue during the 2017 legislative session: “While I am disappointed that the House leadership chose to ... Read More »

From NAWG On Tuesday, July 25, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing titled “Commodities, Credit, and Crop Insurance: Perspectives on Risk Management Tools and Trends for the 2018 Farm Bill.” National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President and Kansas farmer David Schemm testified to the committee on the need for growers to have access to a strong safety net ... Read More »

Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a Pacific Northwest request for $1 million in falling numbers research funding. The request was also approved by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) thanks Congress for recognizing the devastating impacts falling numbers has had on the region’s wheat industry and the need for more ... Read More »

There were 7 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 10 percent very poor, 12 percent poor, 33 percent fair, 44 percent good and 1 percent excellent. A low temperature of 38 degrees F was reported in the northeast region. A high temperature of 102 was reported in the southeast region. Statewide differentials ranged ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Friday, July 21, the state Legislature adjourned on the final day of the third special session without passing a capital budget or a fix to a Supreme Court decision addressing water rights known as the Hirst decision. Lawmakers were in session for 193 days this year on what was scheduled to be a 105-day session. While ... Read More »

From NAWG Both the House Budget Committee considered its version of the FY2018 budget resolution and the Senate Appropriations Committee held a markup of its FY2018 Agriculture Appropriations bill this week. While the mark-ups were separate, we had similar concerns going into those markups. The House Budget Committee completed its markup on Wednesday, July 19 with no amendments offered that ... Read More »

How many people can go multiple years without being paid for the work they do? For farmers, that situation is all too common, as a crop can be destroyed by hail, fire, drought, etc., ruining a year’s worth of work very quickly. The only way to survive is through crop insurance. Crop insurance is a vital part of producers’ financial ... Read More »