General

Centennial flour sacks

When flour was sacked

By Trista Crossley
Editor

It’s usually the items inside a sack that are interesting, but a new exhibition at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) is taking a look at what the sack itself has to say. Golden Harvest: Flour Sacks from the Permanent Collection will be on display through Oct. 30,…

McGregor

The narrator of agriculture’s history in Eastern Washington

By Trista Crossley
Editor

If you’re involved in agriculture in Eastern Washington, there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Alex McGregor. Not only is he chairman of The McGregor Company, which provides seeds, inputs and research to Inland Northwest farmers, he’s also managing general partner of his family’s generational ranch in Hooper, Wash., author…

wheat field

Reaching out to the younger generation

By Howard McDonald
WAWG President

There’s a lot of issues on WAWG’s (the Washington Association of Wheat Growers) agenda right now that need immediate attention—preserving the lower Snake River dams, the disastrous mandatory buffer bill at the state level, keeping conservation efforts voluntary. Those issues are important, obviously, but there’s another issue that I can’t…

historic city

Leaving a legacy

By Trista Crossley
Editor

Janet Walthew may live on the west side of the state, but her family’s legacy in Adams County runs deep as they continue to own and lease out the family’s fourth-generation dryland wheat farm. Recently, she came across photos of her grandfather, Henry Bauer, along with an article published after…

red shop

Coffee-roasting business brews success on Harrington wheat farm

By Guest Author Lacey Miller

When one thinks of Pacific Northwest agriculture, wheat, small grains, wine or apples are mainly what comes to mind. There may be a couple of other crops that pop into your head, but I’m sure you’ve never thought of coffee, which doesn’t grow in this region. But local farmer Shelley…

wheat field

Some big shoes to fill at Lind

By Howard McDonald
WAWG President

Every new year brings changes and challenges, and this year is shaping up to be no different. In December, we learned that Bill Schillinger, director of Washington State University’s (WSU) Lind Dryland Research Station, will be retiring this month. Bill has spent nearly three decades at the station, dedicating his…

men shaking hands

Communication key when family is on both sides

By Trista Crossley
Editor

Walt Neff has the key to a successful, long-term relationship, whether it’s a marriage or a generational family farm. “Communication. That’s the biggest secret right there,” he said. Neff is part of a landlord group that includes his two brothers and a cousin. Neff’s son, David, is the group’s primary…

couple smiling

Spokane’s ‘truck whisperer’

By Kevin Gaffney
For Wheat Life

What do you get when you put together more than 150 years of experience in truck sales, service and maintenance? You get Class 8 Trucks in Spokane, Wash. Owner Marc Lange grew up on a wheat and cattle ranch near Garfield in Whitman County. He had the background and experience…

couple smiling

A little about me…

By Howard McDonald
WAWG President

Since this is my first time writing as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG), I thought I’d take a few minutes to introduce myself and my family. I’m the third generation on my family’s Douglas County dryland wheat farm, which was settled in the 1950s by my…

Mechanic by truck

Mobile mechanic specializes in farm, construction equipment

By Trista Crossley
Editor

Big Iron Repair owner Scott Carroll has shifted gears in his career nearly as many times as he’s rebuilt heavy equipment transmissions and engines. His journey began in the late 1970s on his father-in-law’s Eastern Washington farm. Carroll was born and raised in Ephrata, Wash. After high school, he found…