A meeting of the Spokane County Wheat Growers was held June 20 in Airway Heights. The main topic of discussion was the Hangman Creek watershed. Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) representatives were in attendance to gather producer input and maintain open dialogue in response to a current lawsuit and media attention. The Spokane Riverkeepers, an environmental group, has filed ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers The U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Interior (DOI) yesterday announced more than $47 million in funding to help water districts and producers on private working lands better conserve water resources. The funds include $15 million in USDA funds and $32.6 million from the Bureau of Reclamation for local projects to improve water and energy efficiency ... Read More »

From Agri-Pulse A landmark Senate agreement on national disclosure standards for genetically engineered foods would allow companies to disclose GMO ingredients through digital codes rather than on-package language or symbols. The agreement, reached between Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, also would use a narrow definition of genetic engineering that would exempt the ... Read More »

Opinion piece from the Capital Press While we hesitate to hail any plan to increase state regulation as good news, the Washington Department of Ecology’s plan to overhaul how it regulates the storage and spreading of manure at dairies and other concentrated animal feeding operations has a silver lining for producers. Currently, DOE issues pollution discharge permits to only a ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Visitors attending the Latin American and Caribbean wheat buyers conference got some laughs along with bites of crackers and cookies when they toured the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland’s Pearl District June 21, but Idaho wheat grower Bill Flory said more may come of it. Flory, chair of the center’s Board of Directors, said he’d already ... Read More »

Stripe rust developing on spring wheat, barley crops By Xianming Chen Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS Based on recent field surveys in Adams and Whitman counties of Washington, wheat crops have been progressing fast since the last update in May. Winter wheat ranged from Feekes 10.5.4 (milk) to Feekes 11.3 (almost ripe). Spring wheat ranged from Feekes 5 (early jointing) to Feekes ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington State University’s winter wheat breeder and spring wheat breeder will share an endowed chair position to improve wheat breeding and genetics using the latest technology. Arron Carter and Mike Pumphrey were named co-recipients of the Orville A. Vogel Endowed Chair during a field day at the dryland research station June 16 in Lind, Wash. Funded ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Farmers in the Pacific Northwest could receive a lower price for their wheat if it has too much protein. Connell, Wash., wheat farmer Chris Herron said he recently saw an unusual sight at local grain elevators. They are discounting 5 cents per bushel for white wheat that has more than 10.5 to 11 percent protein. Read ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley Battle scars from the last farm bill debate have just barely faded, but according to industry representatives, it’s already time for agriculture to start thinking about the next farm bill, due in 2018. “It didn’t seem like agriculture had a loud enough voice in negotiations on the last farm bill,” explained Michelle Hennings, executive director of the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The public is so well-fed that most Americans have little interest in where their food comes from. Which is a problem for farmers, said Kim Kidwell, executive associate dean of academic programs for the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “If we don’t have citizens who care about that, we don’t ... Read More »