Author Archives: Trista Crossley

Crop progress report 05/02: Dry, Warm Conditions Continued in Washington

From NASS There were 6.7 days suitable for field work, up from 6.5 days reported the previous week. Statewide temperatures in Washington for the week ending May 2 were above normal. In western Washington, the weather was great for farming. Some field tillage and planting were done due to the dry soils. Cover crops harvested by dairymen were lighter than ... Read More »

NAWG president responds to joint session speech

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Last night, Pres. Joseph Biden delivered his remarks before a Joint Session of Congress. National Association of Wheat growers (NAWG) CEO Chandler Goule provided the following statement in response: “While the president addressed many issues of importance to the American people, we are eager to hear more about agricultural-related policies, specifically how we ... Read More »

Lawmakers See Need to Establish Carbon Ground Rules, But Have Concerns About USDA Purse

From Progressive Farmer While Senate Democrats are confident about the ability to get a bipartisan agricultural climate bill passed, the rift remains with Republicans over USDA’s authority to spend money on a carbon sequestration program without getting approval from Congress first. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

Legislative report 04/26: Session ends

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On Sunday night, the final gavel came down, and the 2021 Legislative Session adjourned Sine Die. It was a session unlike any other, held almost entirely remotely and with the campus closed to the public due to the pandemic. While people could testify remotely, oftentimes, people were not able to testify because of the high ... Read More »

Crop progress report 04/25: Improved field conditions in Washington

From NASS There were 6.5 days suitable for field work, down from 6.8 days reported the previous week. Statewide temperatures in Washington for week ending April 25 were normal to above normal. In western Washington, rain helped the fields that were dried out. In Clallam County, it was another good week of weather for farming. Field conditions improved. First grass ... Read More »

Lawmakers introduce several pieces of climate legislation

Climate legislation is happening at all levels of government. In the last few weeks, multiple leaders in Congress have introduced legislation to address the issue. The first piece of legislation, the Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act, was introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.). The legislation would establish a grant program to help producers adopt conservation and climate practices and ... Read More »

NAWG launches climate, sustainability committee on Earth Day

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) launched their new Special Climate and Sustainability Committee. The committee will work together to review wheat sustainability issues and guide the development of NAWG policy priorities on climate  policy. “Wheat growers are having a positive impact on the environment and have increased resource-efficient practices in ... Read More »

USDA expands, renews CRP in order to boost enrollment, address climate change

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will open enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) with higher payment rates, new incentives and a more targeted focus on the program’s role in climate change mitigation. Additionally, USDA is announcing investments in partnerships to increase climate-smart agriculture, including $330 million in 85 Regional Conservation Partnership ... Read More »

NAWG hires Washington state native as communications director

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Chief Executive Officer, Chandler Goule, announced yesterday that Mariah Wollweber has been hired as the organization’s new Director of Communications and Partnerships, effective Monday, April 19, 2021. Wollweber is a fifth-generation wheat farmer from Washington state. Growing up in a farming family, she was able to see how policies and practices impacted the ... Read More »

Crop progress report 04/18: Fieldwork up in Washington with dry soils

From NASS There were 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork, up from 5.9 days reported the previous week. Statewide temperatures for the week ending April 18 were above normal. Western Washington experienced summer-like temperatures. In San Juan county, warm temperatures stimulated pasture growth, and fruit trees were in full bloom. Livestock transitioned to pasture feed, and many CSA farms struggled to ... Read More »