WAWG
By Michelle Hennings
Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers
In the past six months, our office has been busier than ever before. I’ve been to Olympia, four trips to D.C., Commodity Classic in Houston, and a Midwest tour of the Mississippi River, all worth the time and effort to advocate on your behalf for the farm bill and for our transportation system. With all this local and national travel, I can’t express how important it is to have an efficient and effective staff and support team to fill in the gaps while I’m not in the office. I’m excited that we have brought two new staff members onto the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) team. Our conservation coordinator, Andrea Cox, works closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide wheat growers a contact for critical NRCS questions, along with a way to provide feedback on programs so that we can have a better functioning relationship with NRCS. Also added to the team is our new administrative assistant, Keri Gingrich. Keri is vital in keeping our office organized and functioning. It’s so nice to have a friendly voice and face when farmers either stop by the office or call. A strong team at WAWG is important, and I can’t thank my staff enough for all their hard work and willingness to go above and beyond when needed.
Harvest is in full swing across the state, and reports from farmers have been variable, from good to less than desirable to bad. Washington state has many different climates and rainfall zones, and each county has a different story to tell when it comes to the crop conditions and issues they face. I know that on our farm, seeding conditions were dry in the fall, and we had to reseed some of our hilltops and slopes in the spring. Our farm has yet to start harvesting as I write this article in mid-July, but the crop will be average — if we’re lucky — to less than average. Along with frost damage, this stretch of hot weather is hitting much of the spring wheat hard, according to the farmers who have been calling in. This is where I am thankful that we have crop insurance as a top WAWG priority, so when Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate, farmers have something to fall back on.
One of the biggest highlights of the last six months was the Midwest Mississippi River tour. I can’t thank the Upper Mississippi Waterway Association (UMWA) enough for their coordination and effort in putting this visit together. Our travels started in La Crosse, Wis., and went all the way down to the Gulf and was full of informational tours along with networking opportunities with Mississippi River stakeholders. The Pacific Northwest stakeholder river team that joined me did an excellent job relaying the issues and priorities of our river system while learning theirs.
One of my highlights of the trip was the UMWA board meeting we attended on the first day. Not only was it a great kickoff, but it was also a very vital piece in starting the conversation with Mississippi stakeholders. We gave a presentation on our system and discussed the fight over breaching the lower Snake River dams. The UMWA group asked a lot of great questions and made statements on how this is the time to collaborate. Next steps were also discussed.
At that point, I knew the trip was already successful. Collaboration is key for river systems to have a unified voice across the U.S. and especially in D.C. when our critical infrastructure is being threatened. The rest of the week was spent learning about the Mississippi River system, including similarities and differences from the Columbia-Snake River System. Seeing how vast their system is was eye opening.
This inaugural trip is an essential stepping stone to bringing U.S. river systems together to coordinate messages and present a unified voice. It was very memorable, and I couldn’t ask for a better team to travel six days with, communicating our message and representing our critical system. We had the pleasure of having our Wheat Life editor, Trista Crossley, attend the trip with us and document all of the stops and conversations had during this tour. You can read all about it beginning on page 26.
The farm bill delay has been frustrating. We need a farm bill now, but our food always seems to be a political playing chip when it comes to getting legislation passed. We all know SNAP makes up the majority of the farm bill. We support SNAP and recognize its importance in feeding those less fortunate. But something that sticks in my mind is that in order to provide food for SNAP, farmers have to have the support to grow that food first.
We have participated in multiple trips to D.C. to relay the importance of not only passing a farm bill for our farmers, but also to make sure the farm bill being debated protects our farmers when they need assistance. It’s vital our decision-makers know we need to secure the safe, reliable food supply that our nation is known for. There are some major differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. Our message is to get the two to negotiate a bill and get it passed before the end of the year. I can’t predict if this will happen or not, but we will keep pushing the importance of getting a useful bill passed on behalf of our food system sooner rather than later.
A state issue that has been on everyone’s minds has been the fuel exemption through the Climate Commitment Act. We learned that ag fuel users who purchased fuel in 2023 will qualify for a rebate under a Department of Licensing program called the Agriculture Support Program. Applications can be made beginning the week of Aug. 26, and producers will receive payments in September. We will keep you updated on the process, but it will be crucial that you submit your request quickly, as we fear that the amount of money that was budgeted will not cover all requests. We have participated in many stakeholder meetings to find a solution, and the result was money budgeted for the rebate. Although the amount isn’t sufficient to cover all the costs farmers spent, it’s a start. See more on page 10.
The wheat industry has also been participating in the riparian buffer taskforce meetings, working to come together with other stakeholders to negotiate and provide recommendations for a final report to the governor. Discussions were helpful, thorough, and vast, but the wheat industry doesn’t agree with some of the recommendations that look likely to come out of the roundtable. We will keep you informed and will continue to push for voluntary measures without a regulatory backstop.
Lastly, you should have received a WAWG membership renewal form in the mail. Your support is vital in our efforts to advocate on your behalf. The number of issues we face are growing, and it’s so very important we have you as a member and gain your feedback so that we can make sure your interests are heard. My door is always open and thank you for your support and membership.