By Michelle Hennings Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers In the past six months, our office has been busier than ever before. I’ve been to Olympia, four trips to D.C., Commodity Classic in Houston, and a Midwest tour of the Mississippi River, all worth the time and effort to advocate on your behalf for the farm bill and for ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make an additional $300 million available through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program to help grow export markets for American farm and food products around the world, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced Aug. 5. “Access to international markets supports U.S. farmers at home and food security throughout the world,” said Deputy Secretary Torres ... Read More »

The Washington Grain Commission (WGC) CEO Casey Chumrau and Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) Executive Director Michelle Hennings are participating in two advisory committees related to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) analysis of the statewide transportation impacts of the potential removal of the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD). Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 7 the previous week. Western Washington received some rainfall but remained mostly hot and dry. In northwest Washington, the rain hindered grain farmers with lodged crops as well as hay and grass seed harvest. The first cutting of hay was mostly completed, and ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington (NRCS-WA) has announced the following application batching dates for programs for Fiscal Year 2025 funding: Environmental Quality Incentives Program Classic Applications batching date Oct. 22, 2024 Read the full announcement here. Conservation Stewardship Program Classic Applications batching date is Jan. 17, 2025 Read the full announcement here. Agricultural ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Washington Farm Bureau that claimed the state Department of Ecology failed to shield farmers and haulers of farm goods from cap-and-trade taxes. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers On July 25, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the Request for Information on Climate Smart Biofuel feedstocks. The comments focused on the environmental benefits of winter wheat and the need to recognize crop rotations and winter crops that function as cover ... Read More »

From the Capital Press This year will be “a little more challenging” for wheat prices than the past few years, says grain exporter Brian Liedl, an industry representative on the Washington Grain Commission. “The world is pretty comfortable with the current supply-and-demand picture,” which is reflected in lower wheat prices, he said. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, unchanged from the previous week. Western Washington was dry and most of their first cutting of hay had been completed. In Clark County, moisture was leaving fast, and crops were beginning to dry out. Central Washington had moderate weather, and the district had a large ... Read More »

From smallgrains.wsu.edu The Pacific Northwest is facing yet another major heat wave. This latest extreme heat and dry conditions currently has the vast majority of the state under a “red-flag” warning, which indicates a high risk of fire danger. Therefore, with harvest starting across much of Eastern Washington, producers are encouraged to be prepared for possible combine fires. In years ... Read More »