There’s a new face greeting producers at the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) office in Ritzville, Wash. Katie Teachout joined the WAWG staff at the end of July as an administrative assistant. Teachout moved to Ritzville in 2020 from Okanogan County to take a position at the Ritzville Adams County Journal where she covered local sports and news. She ... Read More »
From NASS Winter wheat Washington planted 1.75 million acres of winter wheat for 2021, down 50,000 acres from 2020. Harvested area, at 1.69 million acres, was down 60,000 acres from 2020. Winter wheat production in Washington is 71 million bushels, down 47 percent from last year with yield estimated at 42 bushels per acre, down 34 bushels per acre from ... Read More »
From the USDA Economic Research Service Widespread drought across the northern and western regions of the United States has dampened prospects for projected production and exports in the 2021/22 marketing year of three classes of U.S. wheat: hard red spring, white, and durum. Cultivation of hard red spring wheat, typically the second largest class of U.S. wheat, is concentrated in ... Read More »
Andy Juris, Washington Association of Wheat Growers secretary/treasurer and a farmer from Klickitat County, is featured in KXLY’s latest Tribute 4 Our Farmers television spot. Read More »
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a letter to President Biden asking for additional federal assistance for the Evergreen State’s producers. The letter says, in part: “Unfortunately, in addition to the ongoing drought and low soil moisture problems, an extreme heat wave hit the state at the end of June. High temperature records were set across the state, topping out ... Read More »
On July 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated 14 counties, mostly in Eastern Washington, as primary natural disaster areas. The declaration allows the Farm Service Agency (FSA) the ability to offer emergency loans to producers to help them replace essential equipment, inputs or the refinance of farm-related debts. Producers in 10 Washington counties that are contiguous to the ... Read More »
By Michelle Hennings WAWG Executive Director The first half of this year has been a challenge, to say the least, both professionally and personally. I’m normally a very social person, and not being able to interact and converse face to face with family, friends and coworkers due to COVID-19 has been really tough. The one positive from the whole ordeal ... Read More »
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but a combination of both brought a big spotlight on the drought conditions in Eastern Washington and highlighted how important crop insurance is to farmers. In June, Nicole Berg, a grower in Benton County and vice president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, sent out photographs of a coat hanger in ... Read More »
Grower leaders from the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) and the Washington Grain Commission (WGC) have sent a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee asking him to announce a drought declaration in wheat counties so growers will have access to federal natural disaster aid. The letter comes as drought conditions deepen across the state. As of June 15, all or ... Read More »
Carbon, in the context of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, is being talked about at all levels of government. In Washington state, the legislature has been focused this session on carbon regulation bills—a low carbon fuel standard and a cap-and-trade program. At the federal level, carbon markets are becoming increasingly front and center. In May’s issue, Wheat Life sat down ... Read More »
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