In January, I was given the opportunity to accompany the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) to Olympia where we lobbied for our wheat farmers at the state level. Throughout this trip, I was able to meet and converse with legislators, have an in-person experience on how our government operates,…
Land is often a farm’s most important asset, and many retired farmers and farm families are opting to become landlords rather than selling land. Recognizing that fact, the Agricultural Marketing and Management Organization held a special workshop specifically for landlords in March. Attendees heard a market update from Rob Froom,…
Variety performance may be the cornerstone of Washington State University’s (WSU) summer plot tours, but there’s a lot of other information also on offer for growers. “While growers can get the information online, there’s something tangible about being able to see the different varieties,” said Clark Neely, WSU’s cereal variety…
Following a months-long audit, the Washington State Farm Service Agency (FSA) office has announced that more than 500 Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) contracts in 21 counties may have been erroneously approved. Impacted producers were invited to join a call last month with FSA State Executive Director Jon Wyss to…
Next month, Washington wheat growers will have the chance to hear about regenerative agriculture principles from the soil guy himself at the Agricultural Marketing and Management Organization’s annual Wheat College. Wheat College will be held June 4, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Lincoln County fairgrounds in Davenport, Wash. Ray…
We all have mishaps in farming. Say you spray 100 acres of fallow for weed control, but you forgot to add the herbicide, or you forgot to unplug hydraulic lines while unhooking from an implement. These are definitely a couple of farm mishaps that may or may not have happened…
It is amazing how time flies and seems to accelerate as one grows older. When looking out the windshield, the quarter-century mark is approaching quickly. It seems like only yesterday we were discussing preparation for Y2K when the clock was going to strike midnight and computer systems would shut down. …
Back in February, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the mother of all agricultural surveys, the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Decision-makers will use that data to help set farm policy and allocate money across the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal agencies. “The census of agriculture is…
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture state leaders teamed up in February to update growers on the latest agency information as part of the Agricultural Marketing and Management Organization’s winter schedule. Jon Wyss, state executive director for the Farm Service Agency (FSA), and Roylene Comes At Night, state conservationist for the…
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…
