Low falling numbers, which have struck distinct regions of Eastern Washington periodically, have shown up once again in the 2016 crop. This season’s outbreak is widespread, but on a random basis. Low falling numbers can be caused by two factors: rain at harvest and Late Maturity Alpha Amylase (LMA) activity. This year, LMA is the primary factor causing low falling ... Read More »

There might be some relief coming for some Washington state farmers whose land was rejected from the last Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up. The Washington State Farm Service Agency (FSA) has received a special allocation of 10,000 acres from the national office for the Highly Erodible Land Initiative (HELI).  These acres were previously limited to new land, but the ... Read More »

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced the appointment of Brett Blankenship to the Washington State University (WSU) Board of Regents. Blankenship, who resides in Lake Stevens and Washtucna, is an owner and partner in Blankenship Brothers, a family farm wheat producer. Blankenship has served as president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, a federation of the 22 leading wheat-producing states, ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has ended a temporary suspension of U.S. wheat imports after testing detected no genetically modified wheat in U.S. supplies. MFDS quickly deployed the test to assure U.S. wheat remains safe and reliable, adding confidence that nothing has changed the U.S. wheat supply chain’s ability to deliver wheat that ... Read More »

From NAWG President Barack Obama signed the GMO labeling bill on July 29, 2016. This historic bill will require the mandatory labeling of food that contains genetic engineering. The legislation gives food producers the option to either label their products with wording or a symbol, or to provide a smart phone accessible digital QR code that when scanned, discloses information concerning whether ... Read More »

By Lori Williams WAWG Outreach Coordinator One issue currently being discussed by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) leadership team is submitting a formal request to the Risk Management Agency (RMA) to recognize hard red wheat (HRW) as a separate class for crop insurance purposes. Crop insurance is a critical risk management tool for wheat producers. According to the ... Read More »

Excerpted from an Ecology press release The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has adopted a new water quality rule that safeguards the health of Washington’s people and its economy. The fish consumption rule, as it is widely known, updates Washington’s water quality standards for toxics, establishing how clean the state’s lakes, rivers and marine waters need to be. The standards set pollution limits for businesses and ... Read More »

Pacific Northwest wheat and grain commissions, as well as state wheat grower associations, have learned that the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, confirmed the discovery of glyphosate-resistant wheat plants in a summer fallow field in Eastern Washington. We have been told the plants were not killed after an herbicide application. In a report ... Read More »

With harvest season in full-swing in many parts of the state, the Washington State Patrol Commercial Vehicle Division recently contacted the Washington Association of Wheat Growers in an effort to remind farmers of vehicle size, weight and load restrictions. Citations have recently been issued for overweight grain trucks and farmers are encouraged to review the restrictions. The following was taken from the Commercial ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Dryland wheat farmers in Eastern Washington are reporting above-average yields during this year’s harvest. Juliann Dodds, senior vice president and commercial banking manager team lead at Umpqua Bank in Moses Lake, Wash., said she’s hearing from farmers whose yields are running as high as 100 bushels per acre, instead of the normal yields around 50 to ... Read More »