By Michael Anderson U.S. Wheat Associates Assistant Director, West Coast Office Early in 2019, I attended a presentation given by the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), Kristin Meira. In the audience were farmers eager to hear how U.S. legislators shared their interests regarding the ongoing navigability of the Columbia and Snake River systems. Open waterways are ... Read More »
From Farm Progress There’s some good news on ag trade. President Donald Trump recently announced a trade agreement in principle between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. Wheat Associates said in a statement that the agreement will “keep exports of U.S. wheat flowing to a “very large and crucial market for U.S. farmers.” Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From NAWG Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) interim registration decision for glyphosate. NAWG president and Lavon, Texas, farmer, Ben Scholz, made the following statement: “Glyphosate has been on the market for more than 40 years (1974 initial registration) and has passed multiple scientific reviews in each of its over 100 ... Read More »
From USDA U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Economist has published a detailed accounting of how estimated damage from trade disruptions was calculated for its support package for farmers announced on July 25, 2019. USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist developed an estimate of gross trade damages for ... Read More »
From U.S. Wheat Associates There is renewed hope this week that the United States and Japan are making good progress toward a trade agreement that we hope will ensure U.S. wheat can continue competing with Canadian and Australian wheat based on quality, variety and value. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From the Capital Press In the wake of the discovery of genetically engineered wheat in Washington state, farmers still have questions, and lots of them. In June, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced it was investigating GE wheat found in a fallow field. APHIS expects the current case to follow a timeline similar to previous cases, which lasted ... Read More »
From the Capital Press The U.S. wheat industry is reacting with disappointment after President Donald Trump said that Japan, their No. 1 customer, doesn’t really want to buy their grain. Read the entire article here. Read More »
By Trista Crossley As the debate around breaching the lower Snake River dams continues, the Washington state agricultural industry brought more than 3 dozen state legislators and aides on a boat tour last week in an effort to demonstrate how important the dams are to the region’s economy. Legislators boarded the boat at the Port of Kennewick. While headed upstream ... Read More »
For the second year in a row, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) joined with Washington State University (WSU), the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and other commodity groups to celebrate Washington state agriculture in the nation’s capital. The group visited with most members of the state’s Congressional delegation and then held a Taste of Washington reception that ... Read More »
The failure of Congress to approve the USMCA trade agreement with Mexico and Canada prior to the August recess jeopardizes trade with two of America’s most reliable customers as it threatens wheat shipments to our most important market. The Washington Grain Commission (WGC) and the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) urge Congress to schedule an expeditedvote on the important ... Read More »
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