Posts by Guest Author
Harvest season brings harvest stress
As the dog days of summer roll on, rural towns all around Washington are buzzing with tractors, trucks and other farm machinery. To those in the throes of harvest, it’s the accumulation of all their hard-earned efforts, and with that comes an intense and stressful season. Nearly all of the stressors that affect agricultural production…
Read MoreAg, family inspire nonfarm career choice
Farming has always played an important role in my life, considering I am the fifth generation being raised and working on my family’s farm near Davenport. Growing up on a farm has taught me many valuable life lessons, such as having a strong work ethic, time management and responsibility. Also, growing up in a rural…
Read MoreFirst-person account
To be Ukrainian today is a huge challenge. It is a pain, but it is also a pride. The war in Ukraine has affected each Ukrainian family and even everybody around the world. I am pleased to share with you my survival story and tell about Ukraine first hand. I would never have thought that…
Read MoreAmbassador plots path to local ag career
I am the sixth generation to raise wheat here on Nonnemacher Farms in Davenport. At about 6 years old, I started breeding, raising and selling pigs. During harvest, I got paid for washing combine windows. My father paid me in wheat, and I had to learn to observe the market to know when to sell…
Read MoreTo the farmers
Taking life day by day is how we roll up here on the Emtman Ranch. As I sit and read so much about everything going on in our country—all the politics, anger, protesting, finger pointing—I think of the man pictured here (and many others in his boots). My husband doesn’t have time to complain. He…
Read MoreCultivating leaders of tomorrow
Violence broke out. People were arrested; some were beaten. Shots were fired. Vehicles were damaged. A bridge was burned. This could be the news from last week, but I want to take you back to Washington’s “Fish Wars” of the 1960s and 70s. Sport and commercial fishing industries were competing with Native American tribes. The…
Read MoreGrowers hear latest on incentive programs
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA), along with the Washington State Conservation Commission (WSCC), teamed up Feb. 10 and 11 to bring Eastern Washington wheat growers the latest incentive programs and Climate-Smart information available for, and supporting, their operations. More than 50 producers attended the two…
Read MoreEstate tax woes
Farmers in Washington state face an extra tax at death that most other farmers in the U.S. do not. That is a Washington state estate tax. Oregon also has this tax, along with about 15 other states, primarily in the Midwest or back East. Even California no longer has an estate tax. A married couple…
Read MoreIn the weeds
Along with marketing information (see page 52), weed resistance was also discussed at one of last month’s Agricultural Marketing and Management Organization’s seminars. Weed scientist Drew Lyon, a professor in Washington State University’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, spoke to growers remotely on the latest developments in Harvest Weed Seed Control (HWSC), an “alternative weed-control…
Read MoreCoffee-roasting business brews success on Harrington wheat farm
When one thinks of Pacific Northwest agriculture, wheat, small grains, wine or apples are mainly what comes to mind. There may be a couple of other crops that pop into your head, but I’m sure you’ve never thought of coffee, which doesn’t grow in this region. But local farmer Shelley Quigley has found the closest…
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