Farmers in the Skagit Valley may be producing crops unthinkable in Eastern Washington, but they face many of the same pressures as dryland wheat farmers do. At stop after stop, producers on last month’s legislative food and farm tour discussed issues such as farmland preservation, labor, the cost of inputs,…
National agriculture policy expert Ray Starling sees a growing battle between those involved in the agricultural industry and those who say the food system is broken and want to reform it. “You’ve got the folks actually involved in the industry on one side,” he explained. “On the other side, mostly…
Just the other day, someone asked me if there was anything that surprised me in my year of being WAWG (Washington Association of Wheat Growers) president. I answered that I was a farmer, and that I’m used to things sometimes going sideways on the farm operation, and I’m used to…
The economic journey that lies ahead is going to be a three-dimensional pathway full of challenges, but also opportunities for the proactive manager. Along this journey, disrupters can occur to bottom-line profits in the form of the three-headed, fire-breathing dragon. If not properly managed, it can lead to burning through…
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…
