Federal

NAWG elects new officers with Washington wheat grower as president

Today, Nicole Berg was elected as the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) president. She is a 4th generation farmer from Paterson, Wash., where she farms alongside her dad and two brothers. They grow dryland and irrigated wheat, blue grass seed, field corn, sweet corn, sweet peas, green beans and alfalfa. Berg also sits on the board of the Federal ... Read More »

NAWG leader: Cost of wheat production to increase with Russian invasion

From the Capital Press The cost of production is likely to increase for U.S. wheat farmers as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the leader of the National Association of Wheat Growers says. “First of all and most of all, it’s a very unfortunate and sad situation what’s going on with the invasion of Ukraine by Russian military ... Read More »

ARC/PLC election deadline is close

The Farm Service Agency recently updated the annual and benchmark yields for ARC/PLC program years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. This data is useful to producer in choosing to participate in either ARC or PLC. For added assistance with ARC and PLC decisions, USDA partnered with the University of Illinois and Texas A&M University to offer web-based decision tools to ... Read More »

NAWG Testifies in House Ag Committee on 2018 Farm Bill review

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Vice President and Paterson, Wash., farmer Nicole Berg testified in front of the House Agriculture Committee today in a hearing to review the 2018 Farm Bill with a focus on Title I programs. Berg highlighted key improvements made during the 2018 Farm Bill and how those programs work for wheat farmers. During the testimony, ... Read More »

Massive research effort will develop wheat for changing climates

From the Capital Press The University of California-Davis is leading a $15 million, five-year research project to accelerate wheat breeding to meet new climate realities and train a new generation of plant breeders. A USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant will create a coordinated consortium of 41 wheat breeders and researchers from 22 institutions in 20 states. Researchers ... Read More »

NAWG Sends Letter to Secretary Vilsack on Disaster Aid Implementation

The National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) recently sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack highlighting wheat growers’ challenges during previous iterations of ad hoc disaster assistance programs. The letter emphasized the timeliness of getting this aid rolled out and noted several past issues experienced by wheat growers in earlier programs – like WHIP+ and QLA. The ... Read More »

2021 ag exports of $177 billion shatter previous record

From Farm Progress U.S. agricultural exports soared to a record-breaking $177 billion during the 2021 calendar year, besting the previous record of nearly $155 billion set in 2014. It represented an increase of 18% from 2020 export sales receipts on soaring commodity prices and robust international food and feed demand. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

FSA opens general CRP sign-up

Agricultural producers and landowners can now sign up soon for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a cornerstone conservation program offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a key tool in the Biden-Harris Administration effort to address climate change and achieve other natural resource benefits. The General CRP sign-up runs from Jan. 31 to March 11, and the Grassland CRP sign-up will ... Read More »

Senate introduces bill to allow farmers to fix their own equipment

From NBC News Scott Potmesil, a fourth-generation farmer who raises cattle in Sandhills, Nebraska, recently bought a John Deere tractor that is over 25 years old. He said he purposely went looking for the older device in 2020 because he believed it would be easier to repair than newer models, which can often be fixed only by authorized dealerships. “I ... Read More »

House Members Call for Action Against India’s Wheat, Rice Subsidies

Recently, 28 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai requesting the administration pursue a World Trade Organization (WTO) case against India’s domestic support for rice and wheat production. The U.S. has previously highlighted India’s noncompliance through counternotifications at the WTO Committee on ... Read More »