By Trista Crossley Nearly five months after the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law, implementation continues to move forward. In March, many of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agencies held listening sessions to gain input from stakeholders and the public on farm bill implementation. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) has been monitoring the process closely and ... Read More »
Current Issues
Leading ag commodities oppose additional tariffs on Chinese goods
Today, the U.S. Trade Representative moved forward with increasing the tariff rate from 10 to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. Farmers across the country are extremely concerned by the actions taken today by President Trump and his administration. The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), the American Soybean Association (ASA), and the National Corn Growers Association ... Read More »
In defense of the lower Snake River dams
Editor’s note: This is an Op Ed the Washington Association of Wheat Growers submitted to regional newspapers in May. In agriculture, everything is cyclical. The same seems to be true of the lower Snake River dams. Every few years, advocates of breaching the dams start speaking out on why they should be torn down, and the communities and industries that ... Read More »
It’s go time for advocacy
Snake River dams—Setting the record straight
From the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association The Snake River dams have been in the news again this week. At an event hosted by Boise State University to examine efforts to balance hydropower, salmon, farming and the environment, the topic of dam breaching became the focus of the event. Some speakers called for forums to be created to look at the ... Read More »
Legislative update 0423: Down to the wire
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Tuesday marked the 100th day of the 2019 Legislative Session. Another important legislative deadline occurred last week, in which all bills must have passed out of both chambers to remain “alive,” unless they are deemed necessary to implement the budget. The 2019 Legislative Session is scheduled to end on April 28. Over the next five days, ... Read More »
Stripe rust report 0418: Current stripe rust pressure is low
By Dr. Xianming Chen On Wednesday, we were checking wheat fields in Whitman, Lincoln, Douglas, Grant, Adams, Franklin, Benton and Walla Walla counties of Washington. Winter wheat crops ranged from Feekes 3 to 6. No rust was found in any commercial fields in these counties. Even in the field of Grant County in which stripe rust was found quite easily ... Read More »
Legislative update 0416: 100% Clean energy bill passes House
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Yesterday was day 93 of the 2019 Legislative Session, and the end of the regular session is quickly approaching. The fiscal cutoff (where opposite chamber bills needed to be voted out of committee to remain alive) came on April 9, and since then, legislators have been on the floor trying to pass opposite chamber bills ... Read More »
Commentary: Farmers speak out on the facts about glyphosate
From the Capital Press Too often, science and facts fall victim to fear mongering and emotion. Recently, we have seen an uptick in false narratives around wheat growers’ use of the herbicide glyphosate. The reality is that glyphosate, the active ingredient in many herbicide brands, including Roundup herbicide, is one of the most effective tools to combat weeds prior to ... Read More »
State legislative update 0409: House, Senate in serious budget negotiations
From Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Yesterday was day 86 of the 2019 Legislative Session. It was the opposite chamber fiscal deadline, where bills had to pass out of the fiscal committees of the opposite chamber unless necessary to implement the budget. Starting today, we move to floor action until the next cutoff deadline which is April 17 at 5 p.m. to ... Read More »