From the Capital Press For every 100 farmers Jon Paul Driver talks to, about four reach out to him for help afterward. “Everyone is struggling one way or another, whether you have three sheep or 1,000 acres of tree fruit,” Driver told the Capital Press. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

by Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers During the second week of the legislative session, the House of Representatives and Senate were busy holding public hearings, passing bills out of committee, and some floor action. New bills continue to be introduced. Over 1,100 new bills have been filed in both chambers combined this session. Less than two weeks remain ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The next farm bill is high on lawmakers’ list of  priorities, but Congress must clear the path in order to make progress, according to the National Association of Wheat Growers. “With there being a couple fiscal cliffs in front of us, there’s a need to pass another stopgap spending measure – that does take precedent, just ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service All wheat planted in Washington totaled 2.30 million acres, down 1% from 2022. Harvested area, at 2.24 million acres, is down 1% from the previous year. Production totaled 113 million bushels, down 21% from 2022. Yield is estimated at 50.5 bushels per acre, down 12.9 bushels from the previous year. In Idaho, all wheat ... Read More »

From farmdocdaily.illinois.edu Because the 2018 Farm Bill was extended, farmers will have the same commodity title choices in 2024 as they have since 2019.  These include the Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Agricultural Risk Coverage at the county level (ARC-CO), and ARC at the individual level (ARC-IC) programs. For the first time, the effective reference prices in 2024 for corn ($4.01) ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Anthony Smith has a passion for wheat farming. “When the wheat first starts poking out of the ground is pretty exciting, that relieves some stress,” Smith told the Capital Press. “Of course, those first few days of harvest are a feel-good time. Also, finishing harvest feels good, too.” Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

By Xianming Chen Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS Based on the weather data of November and December 2023, stripe rust in the 2024 wheat growing season is predicted to be in the range of severe epidemic level (40-60% yield loss on susceptible varieties). Using different forecast models based on the 2023 November and December weather data, yield loss of highly susceptible ... Read More »

Four members of Washington’s congressional delegation have sent a letter to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) questioning how the U.S. government plans to finance the commitments outlined in the lower Snake River dams settlement agreement, which was released last month. The letter was sent by Reps. Kim Schrier, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Dan Newhouse. “Some language ... Read More »

By Michelle Hennings Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Boy, does time fly by.  I can’t believe it’s already time for my executive director column. The past six months have been busy with travel, meetings, and working many issues. We’ve done farm bill fly-ins to Washington, D.C.; participated in multiple workgroups and a Food for Peace event; organized a ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service Washington experienced warmer than average temperatures across the state. Accumulated precipitation varied from below average in western Washington to slightly above average in Eastern Washington. Skagit County has had a mild winter to date, and winter crops looked good. Whatcom County was drier than normal. Klickitat and Yakima counties were warmer than normal with ... Read More »