State

According to the NASS Crop Production Report released yesterday, winter wheat production is forecast at 1.63 billion bushels, up 8 percent from the June 1 forecast and up 19 percent from 2015. Based on July 1 conditions, the United States yield is forecast at a record high 53.9 bushels per acre, up 3.4 bushels from last month and up 11.4 bushels ... Read More »

Editor’s Note: The Washington Policy Center (WPC) is a nonprofit organization that researches relevant public policy issues and offers practical commonsense recommendations. A few months ago, Chris Cargill, the WPC’s Eastern Washington director, took a look at the state’s agricultural industry and the value it adds to Washington state in a white paper available on WPC’s website. By Chris Cargill Washington ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist This November, Washington voters will decide whether Washington state will be the first state in the nation to enact a carbon tax. The proposal, known as Initiative 732 (I-732), was drafted by a grassroots citizens group called Carbon Washington. I-732 imposes an initial $15 tax on carbon emissions from fossil fuels sold or used in ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Carbon tax proponents are calling attention to a Washington State University study that concluded Initiative 732 on the November ballot would slightly boost the state’s farm economy. The study, led by Gregmar Galinato of the WSU School of Economic Sciences, concludes that an increase in the cost of fuel and other goods would be more than ... Read More »

A meeting of the Spokane County Wheat Growers was held June 20 in Airway Heights. The main topic of discussion was the Hangman Creek watershed. Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) representatives were in attendance to gather producer input and maintain open dialogue in response to a current lawsuit and media attention. The Spokane Riverkeepers, an environmental group, has filed ... Read More »

Opinion piece from the Capital Press While we hesitate to hail any plan to increase state regulation as good news, the Washington Department of Ecology’s plan to overhaul how it regulates the storage and spreading of manure at dairies and other concentrated animal feeding operations has a silver lining for producers. Currently, DOE issues pollution discharge permits to only a ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Visitors attending the Latin American and Caribbean wheat buyers conference got some laughs along with bites of crackers and cookies when they toured the Wheat Marketing Center in Portland’s Pearl District June 21, but Idaho wheat grower Bill Flory said more may come of it. Flory, chair of the center’s Board of Directors, said he’d already ... Read More »

Stripe rust developing on spring wheat, barley crops By Xianming Chen Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS Based on recent field surveys in Adams and Whitman counties of Washington, wheat crops have been progressing fast since the last update in May. Winter wheat ranged from Feekes 10.5.4 (milk) to Feekes 11.3 (almost ripe). Spring wheat ranged from Feekes 5 (early jointing) to Feekes ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Farmers in the Pacific Northwest could receive a lower price for their wheat if it has too much protein. Connell, Wash., wheat farmer Chris Herron said he recently saw an unusual sight at local grain elevators. They are discounting 5 cents per bushel for white wheat that has more than 10.5 to 11 percent protein. Read ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The public is so well-fed that most Americans have little interest in where their food comes from. Which is a problem for farmers, said Kim Kidwell, executive associate dean of academic programs for the Washington State University College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “If we don’t have citizens who care about that, we don’t ... Read More »