WAWG
The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) welcomed two new board members since the first of the year representing Franklin and Spokane counties.
Andrew Schafer, Franklin County
Schafer, along with his wife, Jessica, and their three children, is the fourth generation to farm on his family’s farm near Kahlotus where they grow soft white wheat for seed. He graduated in 2005 from Washington State University and moved back to the farm in 2013, joining his parents. Outside of the WAWG board, he is chair of the Franklin County Farm Service Agency Committee and serves on the CHS SunBasin growers board.
After leaving school, Schafer was involved in the hospitality industry with no firm plans to return to the farm. That decision was made when he and his wife decided to start a family.
“The career I was in was not conducive to being around while raising a family,” he explained. “I wanted my kids to have the same upbringing I did, in a rural community where there’s a sense of community.”
Schafer inherited the Franklin County board seat when he became the Franklin County wheat growers’ president. He said he’d already been thinking about getting more involved in WAWG.
“Farming is a rather solitary lifestyle,” he said. “I was interested in being able to have some time to speak with other people, see what they are doing on their farms, but I’m also a strong proponent that we need to be engaged actively in policymaking and anything that could affect the future of farmers. If I’m not willing to do it, who will?”
Matt DeGon, Spokane County
DeGon has worked on his family’s Fairfield farm from the time he was little, helping his grandfather move hay. The family, which includes DeGon’s parents and his twin brother, grow wheat, barley, canola, peas, lentils, garbs, alfalfa, timothy, and orchard grass. DeGon also does custom haying and spraying. He graduated from Walla Walla Community College in 2021 with a degree in ag systems. He took over the board seat from his aunt, Laurie Roecks, who is currently going through the WAWG chairs.
“It’s good for me to learn this side of the wheat industry,” DeGon said, referring to WAWG’s policy and advocacy efforts. “I didn’t know much about what WAWG did. I think even more people, especially young people in the farm ag community, should be part of not just WAWG, but those style of associations. I think they are overlooked.”
DeGon said at first he wasn’t sure he needed to be part of WAWG and questioned what he could bring to the association, but now hopes he can help bring awareness about what’s happening in farming to others.