Soilborne Wheat Mosaic Virus (SBWMV), a disease previously only found in Walla Walla County, has now been identified in multiple locations in Whitman County. Morgan Menaker, the Washington State University (WSU) Regional Extension agronomist for Whitman, Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, and Walla Walla counties, notified growers of the bad news at…
In early August, the truth behind the catchy slogan, “No Barley, No Beer,” will be on full display at the GRAINMAKER Festival in Spokane, where the public will be able to sample craft beers made with Pacific Northwest Grain and interact with brewers. The next day, brewers will visit a…
I first want to wish all wheat farmers a safe and bountiful harvest. As I reflect on my first six months as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG), I want to thank all of the previous presidents for the time and dedication they invested while moving through…
Here is the bottom line up front: if you farm through an entity, your old Form CCC-902E is about to become history. None of the existing 902Es sitting at your county Farm Service Agency (FSA) office are going to roll forward. Every entity that farms — your LLC, your S…
Fertilizer costs are one among many rising input costs for farmers. While fertilizer is a key budget item for all farmers, fertilizer costs are especially critical for wheat growers. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cost-of-production projections for the 2026-27 marketing year, published in December before the current conflict…
Traveling to the state’s capital for Olympia Days was a truly incredible experience, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage with so many different people and be a voice for Washington wheat growers. Although I enjoyed my entire trip to Olympia, what stood out the…
According to the National Association of Wheat Growers, countervailing duties on phosphate fertilizer cost Washington wheat farmers about $14 million from 2021-25, but Andy Juris predicts nitrogen and sulfur are shaping up to be bigger headaches for the state’s wheat growers. Juris, a farmer from Bickleton, Wash., and chair of…
Do you know what’s buried beneath that field of wheat on the back 40? It could be nothing, or it could be a large pipe full of pressurized natural gas, and the only way to be sure is to call 811 before you do any digging. “There’s a lot of…
Patrick Bell, the recently appointed Farm Service Agency (FSA) state executive director, is no stranger to the state’s agricultural industry, but the scale of it took him a little bit by surprise. “I always knew the importance of commodities and the row crops, especially being based in Spokane, growing up…
Most folks raised in Washington wheat country live their entire lives without becoming seasoned world travelers. Matthew Warren, born and raised in Dayton, Wash., exemplifies the polar opposite of that. Warren graduated from Dayton High School in 2014 and wasted no time in moving across the U.S. to Columbia, S.C….
