Current Issues

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Citing worsening economic conditions impacting the nation’s farmers, over 300 national and state groups sent a letter to congressional leaders on Sept. 9, 2024, calling on them to pass the farm bill before year’s end. Signatories included groups representing farmers, livestock and specialty crop producers, lenders, and other essential stakeholders in agricultural communities ... Read More »

The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is accepting applications for partial repayments to ag producers or transporters of ag products who paid carbon fees related to the state’s cap and trade program on fuel purchases. Qualifying purchases are between Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2023. Funds will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications should be submitted at DOL’s ... Read More »

The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG), in partnership with the Washington State Potato Commission, The McGregor Company, and Northwest RiverPartners, is hosting a tour for more than a dozen U.S. congressional staffers from Washington, D.C., as well as the region’s district offices, on Tuesday, Aug. 20. The objective of the tour is to have the federal staffers see for ... Read More »

By Michelle Hennings Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers In the past six months, our office has been busier than ever before. I’ve been to Olympia, four trips to D.C., Commodity Classic in Houston, and a Midwest tour of the Mississippi River, all worth the time and effort to advocate on your behalf for the farm bill and for ... Read More »

The Washington Grain Commission (WGC) CEO Casey Chumrau and Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) Executive Director Michelle Hennings are participating in two advisory committees related to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) analysis of the statewide transportation impacts of the potential removal of the Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD). Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

Beginning the week of Aug. 26, the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) will begin taking applications for refunds for ag producers who paid taxes related to the state’s cap and trade program on fuel purchases. The DOL circulated a letter recently containing the following information: What Is the Agriculture Support Program (ASP)? The ASP is a funding opportunity for ... Read More »

Columbia County growers have appointed Charlie Mead as their new Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) state board representative. Mead is the fourth generation on his family’s dryland wheat farm near Starbuck, Wash., where they also grow some hay. He is co-managing partner of the farm alongside his father, and his wife, Whitney, is learning the farm’s bookkeeping. They have ... Read More »

Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) and other Columbia-Snake River System advocates will be participating in a Mississippi River Tour June 24-28 to understand the challenges other river systems face and how they are investing in those systems to keep them in good working order now and for the future.  Joining WAWG Executive Director Michelle Hennings are representatives from Port ... Read More »

This week, the Biden administration announced two actions as part of the administration’s agreements, formalized earlier this year, with four tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon to advance the health of wild salmon populations. The Department of Interior released a report entitled, “Historic and Ongoing Impacts of Federal Dams on the Columbia River Basin Tribes” and a new ... Read More »

Agricultural producers should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office to complete crop acreage reports before the applicable deadline after planting is complete. July 15 is a major deadline for most crops, but acreage reporting deadlines vary by county and by crop. “By filing an accurate and timely acreage report for all crops and land uses, including failed ... Read More »