Posts by Trista Crossley
Double Z Farms, Lincoln County
In Lincoln County, Tom Zwainz and his son, Joel, are the fourth and fifth generations to farm the family’s land, some of which dates back to the 1860s. They grow mostly wheat and canola now, but they’ve grown malt barley, peas and chickpeas in the past. Joel’s path back to the farm wasn’t direct, although…
Read MoreAnthony J Smith Farms, Benton County
Tony Smith is the third generation to farm his family’s land in Benton County’s Horse Heaven Hills. Smith’s grandparents, saloon and boarding house operators from Montana, headed west in the 1930s, intending to settle down in the Pendleton, Ore., area. Instead, the family ended up buying land in Washington and starting a farm that is…
Read MoreKelley Brothers, Grant County
For five generations, Chuck Erickson’s family has been farming north of Hartline, Wash., in Grant County, but they haven’t always grown wheat. “Originally, we were orchardists. At the homestead where I live, there were 18 acres of assorted fruit trees. They had to bucket water to the trees by hand,” explained Erickson. “Eventually, my great-great-great-grandmother…
Read MoreFSA program audit uncovers error
In early August, some Eastern Washington producers learned they had been mistakenly enrolled in a conservation practice they didn’t qualify for, and their contracts were being cancelled. But along with the bad news was some good news — the state Farm Service Agency (FSA) office already had a solution in place. According to Jon Wyss,…
Read MoreHarvest 2022
Every year, as June rolls into July, excitement starts to build across Eastern Washington for thousands of wheat farmers and their families who are stewards of more than 2 million acres of land. Nearly all of Washington’s wheat farms are family owned and operated, and they are often passed down from generation to generation with…
Read MoreDNR mapping potential solar farm sites
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in the final stages of mapping their Eastern Washington properties for potential solar farm development. Lessees who might be impacted have been notified by postcard. According to Dever Haffner-Ratliffe, DNR’s Clean Energy Program manager, the goal of the mapping project is to identify properties that are…
Read MoreUW faculty field tour
Teachers generally do the educating, but last month, a group of University of Washington (UW) faculty members found themselves on the other side of the desk when they visited Sen. Mark Schoesler’s Ritzville farm to learn about the Washington wheat industry. The visit was part of UW’s Faculty Field Tour and is open to faculty…
Read MoreWhere WAWG started
Nowadays, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) is the main organization dedicated to legislative advocacy for Washington wheat growers, but it wasn’t always that way. Fourteen years before growers first met under the WAWG banner, it was the Washington State Farm Bureau (WSFB) that was performing those duties. In February 1940, WSFB President Herbert…
Read MoreGrowing a new kind of crop
Have commodity farmers become so efficient that they’re hurting themselves and the rural communities that they live in? Finding ways to add value to a crop could bolster the bottom lines of both. “We are producing more than we ever have before, and we are doing it cheaper than we ever have, so food prices…
Read MoreGenerating a show of support
Last month during a tour through Eastern Washington that included a boat ride to Ice Harbor Dam and a tour of the facility, members of the Congressional Western Caucus learned about the energy infrastructure the lower Snake River dams provide and the measures the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has implemented to boost salmon survival.…
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