By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The 2026 Legislative Session reached its first important deadline on Feb. 4, as policy committee cutoff occurred. Any bills that have not made it out of a policy committee are considered dead and no longer eligible to move forward this year. Legislation not subject to the deadline includes bills that have been passed to fiscal ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service  In Washington, January was unusually dry and warm. Western Washington observed 14 consecutive days without measurable rain, and temperatures were unseasonably warm. The dry streak ended by the end of the month. Dry January weather worsened snow water equivalent in the Cascade Range and across most of Washington. In Central Washington, farmers were worried about the impact ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Saturday, Jan. 31, marked the 20th day of session, with 40 days left to go. The third week brought another hectic week with the first legislative deadline fast approaching. The first legislative deadline is Feb. 4, which is the policy cut-off deadline. All bills must be passed out of their respective policy committees by this ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers On Jan. 29, 2026, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) elected Jamie Kress as president during their 2026 Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Jamie and her husband, Cory, own and operate an 8,500-acre dryland farm in the Rockland Valley of eastern Idaho. Their farm is comprised primarily of winter and spring wheat, ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington lawmakers are advancing bills that could make farming more expensive, while legislation to cut labor costs and taxes languishes. The state ranks 14th in the U.S. in gross farm income, but 46th in net cash income, according to the USDA. Only farms in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Alaska are less profitable. Read the ... Read More »

Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) elected Jamie Kress as President during their 2026 Annual Conference in Washington, DC. Jamie and her husband Cory own and operate an 8,500-acre dryland farm in the Rockland Valley of eastern Idaho. Their farm is comprised primarily of winter and spring wheat, along with a variety of rotational crops including: canola, safflower, ... Read More »

By Jon DeVaney Special to the Seattle Times More and more of our Washington state apple, pear and cherry growers are being forced out of business by circumstances beyond their control. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, Washington state lost 3,700 farms between 2017 and 2022 — more than two farms per day. The number of ... Read More »

by Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The legislature has completed the second week of its session; due to the pace and compressed timeline of the short session, however, it feels like we have been in session much longer.  Committees have been busy holding public hearings and passing bills out of committee. Many bills are being continuously amended ... Read More »

In January, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) announced that Anthony Peña had been promoted to vice president of policy and communications. Peña joined the NAWG team in March 2025 as policy manager, where he has played a key role in advancing the association’s policy priorities and strengthening engagement on behalf of U.S. wheat farmers. In his new role, ... Read More »

From world-grain.com The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) took the first step last week toward assuming Food for Peace, the flagship US international food aid program, with a series of roundtables on how to best operate it. The USDA, the US Department of State and Office of Management and Budget signed an interagency agreement that the USDA should take the lead ... Read More »