State

From the Capital Press The partial federal government shutdown could delay the hiring of a USDA researcher to lead the investigation into starch problems in wheat, an industry representative says. Before the shutdown, the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Pullman, Wash., was on track to post the job announcement in January, said Mary Palmer Sullivan, vice president of the Washington ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The three Northwest legislatures go to work this month, addressing a wide variety of issues that will impact their state’s farmers and ranchers. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

Handicapping association’s 2019 federal, state legislative agenda It may be a new year, but many of the issues on the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) legislative agenda aren’t. The WAWG leadership team is gearing up for what looks to be a busy legislative season. The midterm elections saw a large number of freshman lawmakers elected to the state legislature, ... Read More »

Dear WAWG members, We’re all familiar with the adage, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Unfortunately, our plans to reach out to nonmembers and encourage them to become members went a bit off the rails with our January issue of Wheat Life. Every few years, we use an issue of Wheat Life to reach out ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Just because the new farm bill was passed doesn’t mean wheat farmers get to rest, says the new president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. Connell, Wash., wheat farmer Jeff Shawver began his one-year term as president in November during the Tri-State Grain Growers Convention in Portland. Efforts to pass a new farm bill were ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On Jan. 14, 2019, the Washington State Legislature will be back in session in Olympia for a “long” session that is scheduled to last 105 days. One of the primary tasks of legislators during a long session is to pass the state’s biennial budgets: operating, capital and transportation.   Democrats will control the agenda in Olympia ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A $1.1 billion orca-rescue plan rolled out Thursday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee includes $750,000 for another look at breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River. The dams in southeast Washington generate electricity and allow farmers to move grain by barge down the Columbia River’s main tributary. Inslee said a task force would study whether ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A climate-change agenda outlined Monday by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee calls for banning coal by 2025, mandating reductions in vehicle emissions and spending millions on energy-efficient buildings and to subsidize electric vehicles. The package does not not include a fee on greenhouse gases. Speaking at a press conference in Seattle, Inslee didn’t rule out a carbon ... Read More »

By Alex McGregor The Hagberg-Perten (H-P) test that grades wheat by measuring the effects of the alpha-amylase (AA) enzyme was developed a long time ago. Its original purpose was not to measure grain quality, but to help bakers wanting to know how much AA to add when making loaves of bread.  Back then Dwight Eisenhower was president, Hawaii and Alaska ... Read More »

One of the highlights of each year’s convention are the slideshows playing on the big screens before meals. Here’s the slideshow from the Washington Awards Banquet, and here’s a video of the three state association presidents welcoming convention attendees. Read More »