By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Feb. 25 marked day 49 of the 60-day session. This past week was filled with committee hearings on bills from the opposite chamber and rollouts of the state’s supplemental operating, capital, and transportation budgets. Now that all the budget proposals have been released, the differences between the House and Senate proposals ... Read More »
From the Capital Press With the support of the Inslee administration, Senate and House Democratic budget-writers Monday proposed refunding $30 million in cap-and-trade fuel surcharges to farmers and trucking companies. Farmers who bought fewer than 1,000 gallons of fuel would be eligible for a $600 refund. Farmers who bought up to 4,000 gallons would get $2,300. Farmers who bought more ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature has finished the sixth week of the 60-day legislative session. Feb. 13 marked a critical milestone — the deadline to pass bills out of the chamber where they originated. The House has passed 270 bills, and the Senate has passed 260 bills this session. Bills that did not make ... Read More »
At the 2023 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, Washington wheat growers welcomed Gil Crosby, a grower from Spokane County, as the secretary/treasurer for the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG). Crosby grew up on his family’s farm outside of Fairfield, Wash. After graduating from Liberty High School, he attended Washington State University and graduated from Eastern Washington University. In the 1990s, ... Read More »
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), in collaboration with Washington State University, is working on a Climate Resilience Plan to support agricultural producers through the effects of a changing climate. WSDA is asking Washington producers to fill out a short, anonymous survey by Feb. 23, 2024, to help the agency understand their concerns and where resources should be focused. ... Read More »
From the Capital Press U.S. District Judge Michael Simon has approved a memorandum of understanding negotiated by the Biden administration and litigants in a lawsuit over Snake River dam operations. The agreement stays the lawsuit until Dec. 13, 2028, with the possibility of another five-year extension. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature recently passed the halfway point of the 60-day legislative session and the second major deadline — the fiscal committee cutoff. This means fiscal bills that were not voted out of their respective fiscal committees in the chamber (Senate or House) where they were introduced, are likely “dead” for the ... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agricultures’s Natural Resource and Conservations Service (NRCS) in Washington is announcing a second application batching period for the Agricultural Conservation Easements Program-Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE). While applications for ACEP-ALE are taken on a continuous basis, the deadline to be considered for Fiscal Year 2024 second funding is March 11, 2024. NRCS Washington has over $1 million remaining ... Read More »
Late last month, Washington Association of Wheat Growers President Anthony Smith joined Washington Grain Commission Chairman Ben Barstow in supporting the Port of Tacoma’s petition to eradicate an invasive snail. Cernuella virgata, also called the vineyard snail, was first detected at the Port in 2005. The snails feed on and contaminate field crops including wheat, barley, oats, peas, and canola, and ... Read More »
By Diana Carlen, Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers We have completed the fourth week of session. Jan. 31 marked the first important cutoff date of the 2024 Legislative Session. Cutoff dates play a crucial role in the legislative process as any bills that have not made it out of a policy committee are considered “dead” and no longer eligible ... Read More »
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