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…
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…
This is my last Bottom Line column of the year, and I have enjoyed writing them. I hope you have not been too bored reading them! This final article is an unusual topic but one that is often overlooked by most farmers. When most farmers think about liability and insurance,…
Whew! Another year around the sun that we have harvested and seeded! Now it’s time to wind down and watch the wheat grow. As my late dad would say, “It’s time to round up all the scrap iron and put it in one pile,” which meant getting all the farm…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Founded in 1878, Lanefield Farms is located in southeast Lincoln County a few miles north of Sprague, Wash. Chris Laney is the fourth-generation owner/operator of the farm. Laney took the reins from his father, Bob Laney, in the 1970s. The farm was started by Laney’s great-grandfather, William Gaffney, who came…
Traditions. We all have them. From Christmas traditions, to wearing the winning game socks (religiously) in a high school Friday night football game, to flipping aebleskivers every Sunday morning for the family. People love their traditions, and it’s no surprise that farmers have their own. When I was farming with…
