By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Early this morning, the Washington State Senate passed a $43 billion budget proposal that earmarks $1.8 billion for education funding in a 25-24 vote. Unlike the governor’s proposed budget, the senate budget does not raise new taxes such as a carbon tax. However, it does rework the state property tax to replace local property tax ... Read More »

Before the Feb. 7 comment period closed, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers submitted comments in a letter on the proposed scoping process for the Columbia River Systems Operations Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The letter outlined the organization’s opposition to any consideration of dam removal or breaching, saying, “…it is important that the scoping effort recognize that there is no ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse U.S. farmers are getting grayer, their national numbers are on the decline and fewer young people are moving back to farms and ranches. The average age of a principal operator of a U.S. farm is now over 58 years old. Absent opportunities for manufacturing, recreation or other industries, many of their surrounding small towns are dying off, too. ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Yesterday marked the 71st day of the legislative session. Policy committees are busy hearing bills passed by the opposite chamber. The next legislative deadline is March 29 in which all bills must pass out of their opposite chamber’s policy committees to remain alive. Revenue forecast and budget news Four times a year, the Washington State Economic ... Read More »

From NAWG The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) joined 16 agriculture organizations in voicing support for sufficient financial resources to write the next farm bill. A joint letter was sent to House and Senate leaders of the Budget and Appropriations Committees and echoes the sentiments of the House Agriculture Committee’s annual budget and views and estimates letter to the House Budget ... Read More »

From DTN The U.S. Department of Agriculture would take a $4.7 billion cut in discretionary programs next year under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget, or about a 21 percent cut from 2017 spending levels. The budget blueprint released Thursday by the White House proposes a $17.9 billion discretionary budget at USDA, down from $22.6 billion for the current budget year. The ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Mark Sheffels doesn’t plant as much wheat as he once did. Sheffels, who farms west of Spokane near Davenport and Wilbur, Wash., started reducing his wheat acreage several years ago in favor of winter peas. He made the move because of low wheat prices and the high costs of raising it. “Even when markets suggest we ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Today marks the 64th day of the legislative session. Last Wednesday, the legislature reached a milestone which was the deadline to pass bills out of the house of origin. Bills that did not pass out of the house of origin by that deadline are not eligible to move forward this year unless they are considered ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse It’s a time-honored tradition for any legislative advocate to look for partners who can align politically. Over the history of U.S. farm bills – dating back to the 1930s – the “traditional” farm organizations have aligned with a wide variety of other special interest organizations, ranging from labor unions to nutrition advocates and conservation groups. But as attacks ... Read More »

By Xianming Chen Stripe rust will be likely severe in the eastern Pacific Northwest Based on the forecast models using the temperature data from November 2016 to February 2017, stripe rust will potentially cause yield loss of 32 percent on highly susceptible varieties. This number is much higher than the 6 percent forecasted in January based only on the November-December ... Read More »