State

From the Capital Press Nicole Berg’s year as president of the National Association of Wheat Growers will end at the Commodity Classic this month when Brent Cheyne of Klamath Falls, Ore., assumes the top NAWG office. Berg farms in Paterson, Wash., with her father and two brothers. They grow wheat, bluegrass seed, field corn, sweet corn, sweet peas, green beans ... Read More »

From NASS In south-central Washington, it was an extremely dry February. There were small skiffs of snow and wind in recent weeks, with lows dipping to the single digits. Weather was not ideal for crops or livestock, but calving had begun around the region. In Yakima County, nearly all the precipitation came in the first week of February and measured ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist State lawmakers have completed their seventh week of the regular session. Last week, they reached their second deadline where the focus was on the fiscal and transportation committees. Legislators on those committees worked long days and evenings to hear and pass out bills having a financial impact to the state. Feb. 24 was the fiscal ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A bipartisan riparian buffer bill supported by farm groups and many tribes but opposed by Gov. Jay Inslee has failed to get out of the House Capital Budget Committee. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From Washington State University Crop and soil scientist Surendra Singh will lead research into better agriculture for the Inland Northwest’s arid country as the new dryland cropping systems agronomist and next director at Washington State University’s (WSU) Lind Dryland Research Station. Starting in early April 2023, Surendra Singh replaces longtime agronomist and director Bill Schillinger, who retired in early 2022 after 29 ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Feb. 19 marked the 40th day of the 2023 Legislative Session and the first deadline: policy committee cutoff. This means all bills needed to pass out of their respective policy committees in their house of origin by that date, or they are considered “dead” for the legislative session. However, no bill is ever officially “dead” ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The Inslee administration continues to oppose a bipartisan voluntary riparian buffer bill backed by tribes, farm groups and the entire House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Administration officials complained Monday the bill lacked minimum buffer widths and gave state agencies too little power to oversee grants to plant vegetation and compensate landowners. Read the rest of ... Read More »

As a college student, Ben Barstow wanted to get into farming. When people asked him what he wanted to do when he graduated, he’d reply: “I’m looking for a Palouse farmer’s daughter who doesn’t have any brothers who want to farm,” he recalled. “A short time after that, we met.” Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist We have completed the fifth week of the legislative session (Feb. 5-11). Only a week remains until the first legislative deadline on Feb. 17, when all bills must be voted out of their respective policy committees to remain under consideration. Bills that do not meet this deadline will be considered “dead” for the legislative session. ... Read More »

At their county meeting in January, Franklin County wheat growers elected a new representative for the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) board of directors. Ben Cochrane is the 5th generation to work on the family’s farm in Kahlotus, Wash. “I’m excited to be a part of WAWG. I’m looking forward to being a contributing member,” Cochrane said. Cochrane graduated ... Read More »