General
Seasons of farming: Spring
After a winter spent mostly indoors attending meetings, doing paperwork, or servicing equipment, farmers are usually eager to resume fieldwork. But what are those machines out in the field actually doing? In Eastern Washington, spring comes first in the south. Wheat farmers in Benton and Franklin counties will be out…
Pesticide Perspectives
Wheat fields in Washington can be home to many insects, weeds, and diseases. Producing quality food crops requires intervention. Many factors are at play in the realm of safety for humans and the environment, including using insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides. In this article, we refer to all these types of…
Crop advisor Q&A
Sam Kimmell has been a crop advisor with The McGregor Company for nine years. He typically works with about 30 farms every year, helping them make planting and crop input decisions. He grew up on a farm in North Idaho, but after high school, joined the Navy. He and his…
The best cure for spring fever is spring fieldwork
The cabin fever has shifted to spring fever, and my list of “to dos” keeps growing faster than what I can accomplish. That’s the spring work tension that builds for us wheat farmers. There’s always a farmer in all our areas who gets out in their field early and makes…
Manhunt
In August 1902, Washington’s Lincoln County briefly became famous for more than just its grain when the manhunt for escaped convict Harry Tracy ended in a wheat field southeast of Creston. Tracy was born Harry Severns in 1875 in Wisconsin to Sarah Catherine Atkinson and Orlando Nye Severns. Details about…
A little planning goes a long way
Here we are in February already! I’m busy tuning up tractors, changing oils and filters — all that fun stuff that needs to get done before getting out in the field. I’m also taking inventory on what spring seed, fertilizers, and crop protection products I’ll need. While doing this, I…
Northcentral Washington settles down
In 1936, the state of Washington began a project to preserve the lore of its earliest pioneers. Elderly people receiving old age assistance through the State Department of Public Welfare were interviewed, and excerpts from those interviews were published in three volumes, the last one in 1938. “Told by the…
Educator works with region’s farmers, ranchers
Growing up on a farm near Uniontown, Wash., Mark Heitstuman determined his career goal early on. Active in his FFA group at Colton High School, he envisioned working in agricultural education. After high school graduation, Heitstuman attended Washington State University (WSU) and earned his degree in ag education in 1987….
Get involved
As I grow older, I look back at my early days of farming. I was full of ideas, ambitious, and willing to put in the time. It took some trial and error, but we introduced GPS to the farm, streamed fertilizers, and implemented no-till and minimal tillage practices. Now, I…
Program seeks to develop leaders in natural resource sectors
After nearly a half century of success, Washington’s vaunted natural resources leadership program, AgForestry, is taking a hard look at itself and its role going forward. AgForestry was established in 1977 and designed to develop leaders in natural resource sectors. At the time, it was based on a similar program…
