From NAWG As formal renegotiation discussions for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) begin in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Wheat Growers ( NAWG) continues to stress “do no harm.” In the next couple of weeks, negotiators from Canada, Mexico and the U.S. will commence the second round of NAFTA renegotiations in Mexico City, before heading to Canada for ... Read More »

Farmer John Duarte has agreed to pay $330,000 in civil penalties and purchase $770,000 worth of mitigation credits to resolve a federal lawsuit after he was accused of plowing wetlands on his property in Tehama County, Calif., according to the Capital Press. In 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had sought $2.8 millions in fines as well as mitigation credits ... Read More »

From agweb.com It’s an historical day for the United States as the first round of negotiations to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), got underway Wednesday morning in Washington D.C. In effect since January 1994, NAFTA created a Free Trade Zone between Canada, Mexico and the United States. President Donald Trump has called the trade pact “the worst ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.4 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 12 percent very poor, 32 percent poor, 31 percent fair, 24 percent good and 1 percent excellent. A low temperature of 50 degrees F was reported in the northeast region, while a high temperature of 105 degrees was reported in both the ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) are crucial workers at U.S. export grain elevators. Overseas wheat buyers in the Asia-Pacific region likely recall the challenges faced in 2015 during a lengthy contract negotiation that occasionally interrupted the West Coast supply chain. Although the dispute was finally settled with a contract through June 2019, ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On July 24, the Washington State Legislature adjourned after 193 consecutive days in session without passing either a state capital budget or legislation addressing the Hirst State Supreme Court water right decision. While a final capital budget providing more than $4 billion for constructions projects across the state had been agreed to by negotiators, the ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.8 days suitable for field work last week. Pasture and range conditions were reported at 3 percent very poor, 19 percent poor, 40 percent fair, 35 percent good and 3 percent excellent. A low temperature of 46 degrees F was reported in both the west and northeast regions, while a high temperature of 105 was reported in ... Read More »

In mid-July, officers and staff of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) flew into the other Washington to talk about the impacts of proposed budget cuts to wheat growers. The group jammed more than 20 meetings into four days, including a visit to the White House to meet with Ray Starling, special assistant to the president for agriculture, trade ... Read More »

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 »