A question that I’ve used in the past as an ice breaker for discussion was, “Would you sell wheat if the market price was $10 a bushel?” Growers have actually had the opportunity to do this, and some of you may have accomplished this goal as prices went higher than…
Looking back, everything in Tomy Gertsch’s employment history seems like it was in preparation for her current job as a senior risk management specialist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency’s (RMA) Spokane Regional Office. Gertsch grew up in Hermiston, Ore. While her family’s main occupation wasn’t…
Before I returned to the family farm full time, I had a short but impactful detour that shaped the way I approach agriculture today. Fresh out of college with a degree in business and communications, I landed a job at Odessa Trading Company selling precision ag equipment. At the time,…
The ag commodity market has never been for the faint of heart, and today’s farm economy is testing even the most seasoned farmers. Between rising input costs, low grain prices, and high interest rates, many producers are tightening belts and looking for every possible edge. Surviving — and even thriving…
A Whitman County stream, parts of which run dry in the summer, is causing tensions between landowners and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology). Whitman County landowners who own land along Spring Flat Creek are being told by Ecology that they are polluting the waterway and will have to…
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…
Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson will be the featured speaker at this year’s Wheat College, which will be held June 4 at the Wheatland Fairgrounds in Ritzville, Wash. Johnson is the resident agronomist with Real Agriculture, where he hosts a weekly podcast, “Wheat Pete’s Word.” He spent 30 years as the…
In a state known for its microclimates, Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet has been providing localized weather information to growers for more than 40 years. According to Lav Khot, director of AgWeatherNet, the system dates back to the 1980s when rudimentary weather stations were deployed, mainly in central Washington, to help…
In a recently released report, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is tackling ag viability in the face of a changing climate and figuring out ways to help farmers come out ahead. Published in March 2025, the “WSDA Climate Resilience Plan for Washington Agriculture” is designed to support the…
Winter and early spring grower meetings have provided a great opportunity for me to continue to meet growers, have conversations about programs, and visit fields to see practices that they’ve implemented. I’ve been pleased with the number of growers that have reached out to me with questions and feedback on…
