Last week, Washington Association of Wheat Growers board member Michele Kiesz volunteered to testify on HB 1091 (proposal for adoption of a low carbon fuel standard) in front of the House Environment and Energy Committee. Unfortunately, the hearing ran out of time before Michele’s turn to testify came up, so instead WAWG submitted the following as written testimony. “Chair Fitzgibbon, ... Read More »
State
EPA, WSDA approve new wireworm seed treatment
Last week, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) and the Washington Grain Commission (WGC) received word that their support for a new wireworm seed treatment had been successful. Teraxxa, manufactured by BASF, was approved in mid-January by the Environmental Protection Agency for use in 2021, just in time for spring seeding. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) approved ... Read More »
2021 Legislative Session reference guide
With the 2021 Washington State Legislative Session going remote, understanding how the process works and getting involved is more important than ever. This handy reference guide can help. Read More »
Wheat seedlings in Northwest down 2 percent
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service Washington winter wheat growers seeded an estimated 1.75 million acres of winter wheat for harvest in 2021. This is down 3 percent from the area seeded in 2020 but unchanged from 2019. Idaho growers seeded 740,000 acres of winter wheat for the 2021 crop, up 3 percent from 2020, and 1 percent above the 2019 ... Read More »
Moderate levels of stripe rust forecast in first report of 2021
By Dr. Xianming Chen Based on the weather conditions in November and December 2020, stripe rust in the 2021 wheat growing season is forecasted to be in the upper range of moderate epidemic level (20-40 percent yield loss on susceptible varieties). Using forecast models based on the 2020 November and December weather data, yield loss of highly susceptible winter wheat ... Read More »
2021 Legislative Session goes almost entirely virtual
By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On Jan. 11, 2021, the Washington State Legislature will be back in session, but operating very differently from past years due to the pandemic. For the first time in the state’s history, the session will be mostly conducted in a virtual format, and come January, the typically bustling capitol campus will be noticeably quiet and ... Read More »
Crop progress report 12/20: Crop conditions good in Washington
The statewide temperatures in Washington for the month of December were slightly below normal to above normal throughout the state. In San Juan County, the month of December was extremely wet. Many lowland fields were flooded with storm water. Most ponds had already filled, which was about two months early. Livestock were on stockpiled feed, and those farms with adequate ... Read More »
Annual meeting goes virtual, business gets done
The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) hasn’t let pandemic-induced social distancing stop it from continuing its work of advocating for the Washington wheat industry. Early last month, more than 50 members virtually took part in WAWG’s annual meeting to hear state and federal agency updates and to review WAWG’s resolutions for the upcoming year. A special guest was Martin ... Read More »
Inslee announces climate package for 2021-23 biennium
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has released his 2021-23 biennium climate policy package. The plan: Caps statewide greenhouse gas emissions and invests in clean energy, transportation and climate resilience programs, and funds part of the Working Families Tax Credit. Establishs a clean fuel standard and reduces transportation emissions through electrification. Requires new buildings to be carbon free by 2030 and eliminates ... Read More »
Washington House releases remote legislative session plan for 2021
From q13fox.com The Washington state House on Friday released its plan for the upcoming legislative session, with opening ceremonies held at a nearby private university in order to abide by coronavirus restrictions, but with the rest of the work done remotely. Their plan comes more than a month after the Senate released its own plan to do the work of ... Read More »