Posts by Trista Crossley
Questions to ask before signing a farm lease
As the end of the year approaches, it’s a good time for landlords to review their farm leases. The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at the Vermont Law School has developed an online Farmland Access Legal Toolkit to provide a resource for both landlords and farm tenants. The toolkit can be accessed at farmlandaccess.org.…
Read MoreWhat does Washington congressional leader have to say?
Wheat Life reached out to Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) to see what he thought about the climate and carbon mitigation efforts in Washington, D.C. What are some of the major red flags for you when you are considering any climate/carbon-related legislation? The U.S. is already a global leader in emissions reduction. We should be building…
Read MoreClimate, Carbon efforts in the crosshairs
Nearly a year into the Biden Administration, efforts focusing on climate, clean energy and carbon markets continue to ramp up. The Washington Association of Wheat Growers works through the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG), the national wheat industry organization, to monitor these efforts and to provide feedback. Jacob Westlin, NAWG’s vice president of policy…
Read MoreMobile mechanic specializes in farm, construction equipment
Big Iron Repair owner Scott Carroll has shifted gears in his career nearly as many times as he’s rebuilt heavy equipment transmissions and engines. His journey began in the late 1970s on his father-in-law’s Eastern Washington farm. Carroll was born and raised in Ephrata, Wash. After high school, he found work as a truck driver.…
Read MoreRelationships key to being a successful landlord
In an industry where keeping the family farm in the family is often paramount, Jan Abrams’ father, George M. Miller, gave her a gift. “My father made it clear that the farm is a business. He said, ‘I don’t want you, out of some sense of sentimentality, to hang onto the farm if it needs…
Read MoreFood and Farm Tour
More than 60 legislators, legislative staff and industry stakeholders descended on Walla Walla in late September to take part in a two-day food and farm tour that highlighted issues facing agriculture and celebrated the region’s many farms. Stops on the tour included a wheat farm, a grain elevator, a vineyard, a potato storehouse, a tree…
Read MoreIs a family farm by any other name still a family farm?
What is a family farm? Definitions vary, depending on the person answering, but one thing is for sure—it shouldn’t be based on the farm name. “I think most people don’t realize that every business they interact with on a daily basis is in a legal entity of some kind,” said John Kragt, an attorney with…
Read MoreFinding the right recipe
In Eastern Washington, cover crops hold promise, but growers are still weeding out some issues. Ryan Poe, a grower from Grant County and president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers, ran into one of those issues in 2019 and 2020 when he planted a cover crop at the same time he direct seeded 25…
Read MoreWhere to find marketing tips for beginners
Nonfarming landlords and beginning farmers who want to learn to market their own wheat have options…it might just take a little leg work. “The secret is education and understanding what it is you are doing and the ramifications of your decisions,” explained Kevin Duling, co-founder and manager of KD Investors, a consulting firm dealing with…
Read MoreAtmospheric scientist sees chance for above-normal precipitation through rest of year
After one of the driest crop years on record, can Pacific Northwest growers expect an equally dry fall? Eric Snodgrass doesn’t think so. “When we look at the longer-range models and when we look at what’s going on out in the Pacific Ocean, there are no strong signals suggesting we will have a drier October/November,”…
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