Posts by Kevin Gaffney
Keeping the grain trains rolling down the track
Having been raised in rural Montana wheat country, it’s probably not surprising that Brad Wiley ended up with a career in the grain industry. Wiley is the foreman of HighLine Grain Growers’ shuttle train loading facility in Four Lakes, Wash. He traveled a circuitous route in his career before joining the HighLine team in 2015. …
Read MoreFranklin County grower roots life in community, ag involvement
“One person can make a difference,” exemplifies Walt Neff’s philosophy on determination to accomplish goals. The Neff family has a saying that accentuates what can be achieved by one determined person: “If you don’t think one individual can make a difference, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito!” It’s a given that any dryland…
Read MoreBringing conservation to Washington ag, livestock, forestry industries
Not many people are fortunate enough to have their career employment place them in locations where they can indulge their favorite hobbies to the extreme. Keith Griswold would qualify as one of those few. His conservation career has included stops in Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and Washington state. An avid hunter and fisherman, Griswold has successfully…
Read MoreLeadership skills prove valuable beyond WAWG board tenure
Raised on a farm homesteaded by his grandfather, Dan Blankenship had a typical wheat farm upbringing. His parents, Dwayne and Beulah Blankenship, had a large family with one daughter and five sons. The fifth of six children, Blankenship worked on the farm as a youth and was also “loaned out” to neighbors in the Washtucna…
Read MoreMontana native handles multiple duties
It was an unusual route taken by Scott Steinbacher to becoming eastern regional manager of the Grain Inspection and Warehouse Audit program manager for the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA). Based in Spokane, Steinbacher joined the WSDA in 2011. His previous employment had been in the high-end hospitality industry. Born and raised in Montana,…
Read MoreRetirement leads seed dealer to new business venture
Most Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ (WAWG) past presidents from the 1980s are now at least semiretired. Not Dana Herron, who served from 1986-87. A native of Connell, Wash., Herron grew up in a farm family founded by his grandfather in 1896 near Kahlotus. Herron’s brother, Chris, still farms that homestead land as well as…
Read MoreHelping to ensure farmers’ financial survival
Rick Williams, a senior risk management specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), was raised on a wheat and barley farm near Reardan, Wash. And while he didn’t take over the family farm, he put in many hours on tractors and combines over the years, even after launching his career in…
Read MoreEducator works with region’s farmers, ranchers
Growing up on a farm near Uniontown, Wash., Mark Heitstuman determined his career goal early on. Active in his FFA group at Colton High School, he envisioned working in agricultural education. After high school graduation, Heitstuman attended Washington State University (WSU) and earned his degree in ag education in 1987. Understanding that continuing his studies…
Read MoreCTE teacher/FFA adviser continues family tradition
Enthusiasm emanates from Samantha Sims. Now in her sixth year of teaching career and technical education at Ellensburg High School (EHS), Sims has already amassed an impressive record of Washington state FFA champions and top-four finishers at the national competition level. Sims was recently awarded the 2023 National New Teacher of the Year by the…
Read MoreWAWG past president still farming in the Palouse
In an occupation that is far more a way of life than just a profession, Dave Harlow has something in common with many other farmers. “I remember not particularly enjoying some of the jobs on the farm in my youth, but a few years later, my perspective had changed. Now, I can’t imagine any career…
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