At their county meeting in January, Franklin County wheat growers elected a new representative for the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) board of directors. Ben Cochrane is the 5th generation to work on the family’s farm in Kahlotus, Wash. “I’m excited to be a part of WAWG. I’m looking forward to being a contributing member,” Cochrane said. Cochrane graduated ... Read More »

From the Capital Press An Eastern Washington lawmaker has proposed reimbursing farmers who can show they paid cap-and-trade surcharges on fuel used to produce or transport farm goods. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, said he’s been hearing from angry farmers seeing higher fuel bills. Legislators were assured cap-and-trade would not apply to agricultural fuels, he said. Read the rest of the ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist We have completed the fourth week of the 2023 Legislative Session. So far, legislators have introduced nearly 1,500 bills for the body to consider. There are only two weeks remaining until the first legislative deadline known as a “cutoff date”. By Feb. 17, bills must be voted out of their respective policy committees to remain ... Read More »

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) awarded Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) with its 2022 Wheat Leader of the Year Award for his work as Chair of the House Agriculture Committee during the 117th Congress. NAWG President Nicole Berg presented the award to Rep. Scott during a recent visit to Washington, D.C. “We appreciate all the work Rep. Scott does on ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Lentils could be planted on more acres this year as demand for the pulse crop increases both overseas and domestically, industry leaders say. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS Northwest Washington experienced low temperatures and wet conditions. In Skagit County, there was not much harvesting, but animals were in good condition. Farmers were educating themselves to prepare for next year. Central Washington saw a mix of weather patterns. In Klickitat County, January was warm and wet. The past few weeks were warm and dry, with temperatures stretching ... Read More »

The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program. Elections and enrollment for 2023 ARC/PLC began on Oct.17, 2022, and will run through March 15, 2023. The 2018 Farm Bill allows for changes to the farm election for 2023. Producers wishing to make a farm election must obtain signatures from all producers on ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Sunday marked the 21st day of the 2023 Legislative Session and completion of the third week of the session. Committees are still holding hearings on new bills as well as scheduling bills for executive action, which is the action of voting bills out of policy and fiscal committees. Bills are continuously being revised as they ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist We have completed the second week of the 105-day session. Committees have been busy holding public hearings and passing bills out of committee. In addition, legislators are dropping dozens of bills daily. As of Jan. 20, over 1,000 bills have been introduced. The first legislative deadline is Feb. 17, 2023, when all bills must be ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen USA-ARS Based on the weather conditions in November and December 2022, stripe rust in the 2023 wheat growing season is forecasted to be in the lower range of moderate epidemic level (20-40% yield loss on susceptible varieties). Using forecast models based on the 2022 November and December weather data, yield loss of highly susceptible winter wheat ... Read More »