The 2025 wheat harvest in Eastern Washington was a mixed bag. Winter wheat yields were average to above average in most locations with good quality. Unfortunately spring wheat yields were poor thanks to an unusually dry spring and summer. As the calendar turns over to October, harvest memories are already…
Scott Ford and his parents, Allen and Cheryl Ford, are the fifth and sixth generations to farm their family’s ground north of Walla Walla that was established right at the turn of the 20th century. They are 100% no-till and grow mostly winter wheat. “We’ve done some spring crops over…
For Chad and Marie Denny, watching their son, Jon, begin his farming career highlights the importance of supporting the next generation. “I feel like we’re a bridge. We’re going to own it for a little while, and then it can move on to the next generation,” Marie explained. “It’s not…
“In Garfield County, if you throw a rock, you are going to hit a Koller,” said Wyatt Koller with a laugh as he described how his great-grandparents, Richard and Ollie, arrived in the area and established the family’s farm after stints blacksmithing and working at a slaughterhouse. Wyatt’s grandfather, Edwin,…
Before Grand Coulee Dam made irrigation viable in the Columbia Basin in the 1950s, farmers struggled to grow food in what was, essentially, a desert. An exhibit at the Quincy Valley Historical Society and Museum (QVHSM), “Hope and Hard Work: The Story of Our Farms and Food,” highlights the story…
My experience as a Washington wheat growers ambassador during the Olympia Legislative Days was more than I could have ever hoped. I was able to meet so many new people, from the other wheat growers that were with me to the government officials we met with. My favorite part was…
Before the Olympia Days trip, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I knew we would be meeting with legislators, talking about issues that matter to our communities, and learning more about how the state government works. Not only did I learn more about how the government works, but the…
He never farmed very large,Just enough to raise a family.Yet his funeral set recordsAt the church in the country. After purchasing his property,I began to make it mine.The machinery was all spent,But, oh, the land was fine. It wasn’t much of a shop,Too little for equipment.So few were the toolsTo…
Best-selling Western author and conservationist Zane Grey (1872-1939) is considered the father of the modern Western novel. He wrote some 300 short stories and 80 books. Grey’s writing was known for idealizing the American frontier spirit with archetypal characters inhabiting moral landscapes who exemplified the Code of the West —…
The value of Washington’s 2023 agricultural production totaled $14 billion, up almost 6% from the previous record high of $13.2 billion in 2022. The value of Washington’s crop production in 2023 was $7.71 billion, down about 10% from the record high value of $8.56 billion in 2022. The value of…
