Michelle Hennings, executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers; Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission; and Rob Rich, vice president of marine services at the Shaver Transportation Company, recently appeared on The Business of Agriculture podcast, hosted by Damian Mason, to talk about the importance of the Columbia-Snake River System. Mason and his guests discuss how ... Read More »

By Michelle Hennings Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Repeat after me, “FOOD SECURITY IS SAFE, RELIABLE FOOD; AND SAFE, RELIABLE FOOD IS FOOD SECURITY!” With everything going on in the world today, this has been on my and many other farmers’ minds lately. Everything we do and accomplish is for this, but the challenge is how do you ... Read More »

By Xianming Chen The stripe rust season is over for winter wheat and almost over for spring wheat and barley in the eastern Pacific Northwest (PNW). We have completed stripe rust data collections in the germplasm nurseries of both winter and spring crops in all locations. In the experimental fields, we have not seen very odd reactions for commercially grown varieties ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Agricultural industry representatives have roundly criticized a pair of White House draft reports on breaching four lower Snake River dams, saying the documents fail to consider the greater impact on the environment and the economy. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) today expressed disappointment with the draft “Rebuilding Interior Columbia Basin Salmon and Steelhead” report released by the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which included recommendations to breach one or more of the lower Snake River dams (LSRD).  “Unfortunately, the report released today fails to consider the impacts breaching the lower Snake ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.5 days the previous week. Statewide temperatures were below normal. In Skagit County, breaks in the cold weather pattern provided time for producers to get into fields and complete corn planting. Improved weather also helped producers cultivate for weeds and provide some heat units for spring crops ... Read More »

Wheat growers challenge scientific accuracy, economic impacts of LSRD report  The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) filed public comments in response to the Draft Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD) Benefit Replacement Report published on June 9. On behalf of over 4,000 members, WAWG urged Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee to reconsider the direction of the Joint Federal-State ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting nominations for county committee members. County committee members make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2022 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2022.  Producers who participate or cooperate in a ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.7 days the previous week. Statewide temperatureswere mostly above normal. In Clark County, the first cutting of alfalfa hay neared completion. Winter wheat was headed and looked good, while spring wheat had not headed yet. In Snohomish County, more field corn was planted. Organic producers had difficulties maintaining weeds ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The Pacific Northwest is already behind in reaching political leaders’ goal of “decarbonizing” the electric grid, and replacing the lower Snake River dams would only add more cost, create delays and generate more carbon dioxide, according to a recent study from Northwest RiverPartners. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »