February - Wheat Life

Transcription

WHEAT LIFE
The official publication of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers
FEBRUARY 2015
a closer look
How carbon reduction proposals
might hammer Washington ag
What’s up with SPCC plans?
Mapping the way with precision ag
Joining Bob Allan’s club
Spring variety testing results
Address Service Requested
Washington Association of Wheat Growers
109 East First Avenue, Ritzville, WA 99169
WHEAT LIFE
Volume 58 • Number 02
www.wheatlife.org
The official publication of
WASHINGTON
ASSOCIATION OF
WHEAT GROWERS
109 East First Avenue
Ritzville, WA 99169-2394
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
WAWG MEMBERSHIP
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
$125 per year
EDITOR
Trista Crossley • editor@wawg.org
(435) 260-8888
AD SALES MANAGER
Kevin Gaffney • KevinGaffney@mac.com
(509) 235-2715
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Devin Taylor • Trista Crossley
AD BILLING
Michelle Hennings • michelle@wawg.org
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
CIRCULATION
Address changes, extra copies, subscriptions
Chauna Carlson • chauna@wawg.org
(509) 659-0610 • (800) 598-6890
Subscriptions are $50 per year
WAWG EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Michelle Hennings
WAWG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT
Larry Cochran • Colfax
VICE PRESIDENT
Kevin Klein • Edwall
SECRETARY/TREASURER
PRESIDENT EMERITUS
Nicole Berg • Paterson
APPOINTED MEMBERS
Chris Herron • Connell
Eric Maier • Ritzville
Marci Green • Fairfield
Wheat Life (ISSN 0043-4701) is published by the
Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG):
109 E. First Avenue • Ritzville, WA 99169-2394
Eleven issues per year with a combined August/
September issue. Standard (A) postage paid at
Ritzville, Wash., and additional entry offices.
Contents of this publication may not be reprinted without permission.
Advertising in Wheat Life does not indicate endorsement of an organization, product or political
candidate by WAWG.
2 WHEAT LIFE FEBRUARY 2015
President’s Perspective
Just a few things on my mind...
By Larry Cochran
My local newspaper gives readers a forum where they
can talk about what’s on their mind, so I thought I would
talk about a few issues that have been on my mind lately.
Climate change. I have been involved in my family’s
farm since my birth in 1954, and the saying here is “if you
don’t like the weather, just wait a few minutes, and it will
change.” Whether or not what man has done over the last
200 years is affecting the weather, I don’t have a clue. In the
scheme of things, 200 years doesn’t even register on the meter of time. Granted, we
need to do whatever we can to reduce our effects on weather, but I don’t like the
idea that we will just tax someone, and that will solve the problem.
In WAWG’s resolutions, we urge that climate change proposals consider the
production of foodstuffs as a national priority and avoid any negative impact
upon the costs and adequacy of supplies of essential inputs used to produce crops.
Gov. Inslee recently proposed a carbon cap-and-trade plan that seems little more
than a tax and will fall hard on the state’s ag community. WAWG has joined with
other concerned businesses and stakeholders to explore alternatives to reducing
our state’s greenhouse emissions. To read more about the governor’s plan and its
possible effects on the ag industry, see page 22.
GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Most people don’t even know what
GMO stands for, but for me as a farmer, it’s just another way of speeding up the
breeding process. I have a boss, Mother Nature, who does her own form of GMO
breeding, whether it’s new races of disease or insects that have evolved. She’s
always changing the rules. If we in agriculture want to be able to feed the world’s
population, we have to be able to grow more food on less land, and I believe
GMOs can help me do that.
As stated in our WAWG resolutions, “We are confident that biotechnology will
deliver significant consumer and producer benefits, and we support continued
biotechnology research and product and market development. We invite valued
and interested customers to join with us in a working partnership to explore the
emerging biotechnology industry.” The decision to plant GMO crops is a choice
every farmer has to make for themselves. We support and will work to ensure the
ability of wheat producers to make planting and marketing choices based on their
own economic, agronomic and market factors.
Gluten-free trends. With all of our new media avenues—internet, social media,
blogs, etc.—anyone can say anything, and someone will believe it. Gluten is a protein that holds bread together. True celiacs understand that they can’t eat gluten
but they are about 2 percent of the population. Many of those labels you read that
say they are gluten-free? They’ve always been gluten-free. That there is the power
of advertising.
WAWG believes that the best way to combat disinformation is to present
credible, scientifically proven facts. Indeed, education is one of our main goals:
“WAWG shall actively produce public information and educational programs in
order to increase the awareness of wheat and agriculture’s importance to the state
and nation’s economy.” We also encourage other industry groups to fund and assist organizations that are dedicated to addressing the public in terms of wheat’s
nutritional value.
The answers to these issues won’t be solved any time soon, so I’ll just slice
myself a piece of homemade bread, spread it with jam made this summer from my
raspberry patch and watch the newborn calves frolic in the snow.
Cover photo: An time-worn barn outside Valleyford. All photos are Shutterstock images or taken by
Wheat Life staff unless otherwise noted.
Inside This Issue
WAWG President’s Perspective
Membership Form
WAWG at Work
Policy Matters
Building a Foundation
Uncovering the details
Gov. Inslee’s carbon reduction proposals
In the director’s chair
Ben Thiel takes over at Spokane’s RMA office
Filling up a fuel plan
A look at SPCC requirements
Precision ag special section
Evergreen Implement maps the way
WGC Chairman’s Column
WGC Review
Diving into the deep end
Wheat Academy is tough but worthwhile
A not-so-secret club
Bob Allan writes a book on wheat variety
World commodity, world traveler
Randy Suess reports from South Africa
Spring wheat, barley trial results
Drawing parallels between breeding, racing
Wheat Watch
Tracing a tool’s timeline
Important dates in combine history
The Bottom Line
Your Wheat Life
Happenings
Advertiser Index
2
4
6
14
20
22
28
32
38
45
46
50
52
55
58
62
64
68
70
72
74
Contributors
Larry Cochran, president, Washington Association of Wheat Growers
Steve Claassen, chairman, Washington Grain Commission
Scott A. Yates, communications director, Washington Grain Commission
Kevin Gaffney, ad sales manager, Wheat Life
Jim Jesernig, WAWG lobbyist
Xianming Chen, plant pathologist, USDA-ARS
Randy Suess, commissioner, Washington Grain Commission
Stephen Guy, extension agronomist/professor, Washington State
University Department of Crop & Soils
T. Randall Fortenbery, Ph.D., Thomas B. Mick Endowed Chair in Grain
Economics, Washington State University
Paul D. Fitzpatrick, attorney, K&L Gates LLP
WHEAT LIFE FEBRUARY 2015 3
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WAWG’s current top priorities are:
✔ Protect funding for both the Washington
State University’s Ag Research Center and
• Sales tax exemption on fertilizer and pesticides
for the proposed Plant Sciences Building
• Ag wholesale B&O exemption
✔ Preserve the ag tax preferences:
• Off-road fuel tax exemption
• Repair parts exemption
✔ Advocate for short-line rail funding
Washington state continues to look for more revenue,
and farmers’ tax exemptions are on the list. If these are important
to your operation, join today and help us fight.
More member benefits:
Weekly Email correspondence
• Greensheet ALERTS • WAWG updates
• Voice to WAWG through opinion surveys
• National Wheat Grower updates
Washington Association
of Wheat Growers
109EastFirstAve.•Ritzville,WA99169
509-659-0610•800-598-6890•509-659-4302(fax)
www.wagrains.com
Call 800-598-6890 or visit www.wagrains.com
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WAWG team gears up
for Olympia, D.C. trips
January was a fairly quiet month for the WAWG officers, executive committee and staff as they geared up
for the association’s annual trips to Washington, D.C.,
and Olympia.
While in D.C., the team will participate in the 2015
wheat industry winter conference along with other state
associations. They will be attending an array of committee
meetings and policy discussions headed by the National
Association of Wheat Growers and U.S. Wheat Associates.
WAWG will also take the opportunity to meet with
Washington state’s national legislative delegation to discuss
issues and concerns of the state’s wheat industry.
Following the D.C. trip, WAWG officers, members and
staff will head west to Olympia, first to spend a day meeting
and greeting the new freshman legislators and again for the
association’s annual Olympia Days. All WAWG members
are encouraged to join the officer team for Olympia Days to
show their support for the state’s wheat industry and to help
educate legislators on issues that affect our industry. Call the
WAWG office for more information at (509) 659-0610. Watch
for a full report in the next issue of Wheat Life.
WAWG is still searching for a volunteer to step up as secretary/treasurer. If you’ve got a passion for our industry and
want to help make a difference, please contact the WAWG
office at (509) 659-0610.
The next WAWG board meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 10, at
10 a.m. in Ritzville.
Starting off the day talking about wheat: Getting the new year off to a good start, Whitman County wheat growers gathered at Eddy’s
in Colfax in early January to share information and talk about local issues. The group heard from WAWG Executive Director Michelle Hennings on the
upcoming trips to Washington, D.C., and Olympia Days and WAWG’s booth at Spokane Ag Expo. She encouraged anybody who could to volunteer
their time to take part manning the Ag Expo booth and joining the officers and executive team in the state capitol. Washington Grain Commissioner
Randy Suess provided a commission update and talked about the latest news from U.S. Wheat Associates. Preserving the state ag tax preferences,
transportation funding and funding for research topped the group’s main concerns.
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WAWG AT WORK
AMMO wraps up schedule
with finances, marketing
The Agriculture Marketing and Management
Organization (AMMO) wraps up its 2015 schedule this
month with workshops on accounting software and
presentations on commodity marketing and farm bill
programs.
Whether you are looking to learn QuickBooks or
just brush up on your skills, AMMO’s got you covered.
Producers have two, hands-on sessions to choose from:
Feb. 10 at the Red Lion Hotel in
Pasco or Feb. 11 in Moses Lake
at the Big Bend Community
College. Morning sessions
start at 10 a.m. and will cover
QuickBook basics. Afternoon
sessions start at 1 p.m. and will
cover advanced QuickBooks.
Confused about how to
market your crop? Enter Mark
Gold, a former 20-year member of the Chicago Board of
Trade, who will walk attendees
through his 10 steps for becoming a better marketer. He
will also talk about the proper use of options in a marketing plan, including when to spend money for options and
how to properly use them. This session will be held Feb. 18
at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco
and on Feb. 19 at the Northern
Quest Resort and Casino in
Airway Heights. Sessions run
from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The final AMMO sessions of 2015 will feature Art
Barnaby, an ag economics
professor at Kansas State
University. Barnaby will talk
about market risk, government
commodity programs, crop
insurance and public policy
and how these topics relate to the 2014 Farm Bill. He will
also discuss which farm bill program, Price Loss Coverage
or Agricultural Risk Coverage, is the best fit for your
operation. This presentation will be held Feb. 24 at the
Davenport Community Center and Feb. 25 at the Big Bend
Community College’s Masto Conference Center in Moses
Lake. These presentations will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For each of these AMMO workshops, preregistration is
required and costs $25. Lunch is included in the cost of the
session. For more information, visit the AMMO website at
lcammo.org or call (877) 740-2666.
Family-first business or business-first family? Nationally know
speaker, Jolene Brown, started off her Agricultural Marketing and Management
presentation by asking the crowd a loaded question. Brown was speaking about
how to transition the family business to the next generation smoothly and
successfully. Attendees explored specific actions that build legacy businesses,
learned about being in the people business and heard about tools for
transitioning labor, management, leadership and ownership.
Presented by the Washington Association of Wheat Growers
WHEAT COLLEGE
Bringing world-class information and research directly to growers
March 23-24, 2015, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Learn about required soil nutrient levels and fertilizer needs for high-yielding, top-quality wheat, barley and
other small grains. Presented by Neal Kinsey, owner and operator of Kinsey Agricultural Services Inc., a St. Louis-based company which specializes in soil fertility management. They’ve offered soil consulting services since
1973 in more than 75 countries. Program will be held at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla.
Admission is FREE!
Do not need to be a WAWG member to attend.
RSVP to the WAWG office at
(509) 659-0610 by March 10 to
reserve your spot. Lunch is included.
First 100 RSVPs to the event will receive
a FREE, 2.5 gallon container of RoundUp.
Sponsored by:
Random prize
drawings will be held
throughout the day.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by the Washington Grain Commission
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WAWG AT WORK
to implement a statewide property tax assessment of
some kind that would then be used by the Department of
Ecology to implement water storage projects, flood control
measures and storm water retrofits needed in different
areas of the state.
Photo by the Washington State House of Representatives
During the 2015 Legislative Session’s opening ceremonies, Washington
state legislators take oaths of office.
2015 Legislative Session report:
Public hearings begin for bills
By Jim Jesernig
WAWG lobbyist
As the legislature moved into the second week of the
2015 Session, any hope that legislators would be introducing fewer bills this year because of the budget situation
they face was pretty much crushed. As of press time, there
were 519 Senate bills and 563 House bills introduced, for a
total of 1,082 pieces of possible new legislation. If this pace
continues, there will be more than 2,000 bills introduced
this year, with an additional 1,000 next year.
In anticipation of this flood of new bills, House and
Senate policy committees also accelerated their activity
level by moving from “overview and update” sessions
to actually holding public hearings on bills. A few of the
more noncontroversial bills have actually been passed to
their respective rules committees.
One of the most anticipated hearings of the 2015 Session
occurred in the House Environment Committee, when
HB 1314, Gov. Inslee’s cap-and-trade bill, received a public
hearing. Though the governor was given about half an
hour to explain his proposal, and alternating “pro” and
“con” panels were heard, it is generally believed that this
measure will not move a whole lot farther than out of the
House Environment Committee.
Another anticipated hearing happened when the Senate
Ways and Means Committee heard a measure with the
nickname of “Big Water.” The idea of this legislation is
Since there are a lot of segments of the state that would
not benefit from this kind of massive infrastructure effort
(but would pay the property tax assessment along with
everyone else), a common criticism that has come up is
that this concept is simply a way for the residents in certain regions of the state to fix their drought and flooding
issues by using “other peoples’ money.” With a transportation revenue package and a possible tax increase to fund
the McCleary decision K-12 fix on the table, I think it is
unlikely that this measure will move very far forward this
session.
Judge rules that Yakima dairy
polluted drinking water
In mid-January, a Washington federal judge granted partial summary judgment against a large industrial dairy in
Eastern Washington for polluting drinking water through
Washington
Wheat
Foundation
Annex
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WAWG AT WORK
its application, storage and management of manure. The ruling could set
precedents across the nation and apply to both livestock and nonlivestock
agriculture.
The lawsuit was filed in 2013 by several environmental groups on behalf
of thousands of families in the lower Yakima Valley who rely on wells for
their drinking water. The attorneys for the dairy are considering an appeal.
A trial date of March 23 has been set to decide how much pollution the dairy
was causing and what steps should be taken to fix the problem.
This case is the first to establish that manure created at an industrial
animal operation, when mishandled, is a solid waste under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The RCRA is a federal law regulating the disposal of waste.
Follow us on
Facebook, Twitter
Get the latest updates on WAWG
and the Washington wheat industry
from our Facebook page. Search for
Washington Association of Wheat
Growers and “like” our page. We also
post updates on our Twitter feed
@WAWheatGrowers.
WAWG will be closely monitoring the situation.
Washington’s early stripe rust forecast
By Xianming Chen
Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS
The current forecast is that highly susceptible winter wheat varieties
would have a 38 percent yield loss, in the high end of moderate epidemic
range (20-40 percent yield loss). Based on this forecast, currently grown
varieties would have 0 to 20 percent yield loss, depending upon the level of
susceptibility. This forecast is based on November and December temperatures. In early March, we will make another forecast based on the weather
conditions of the entire winter season, which is generally more accurate
than the early forecast.
In the last week of November, we checked winter wheat fields in
Whitman, Adams, Lincoln and Grant counties. No rust was observed.
Winter injury, caused by the unusually cold spell in the second week of
November, was evident in many wheat fields.
In contrast to Washington, stripe rust was reported in many locations in
Montana and Wyoming in October and November.
Under natural conditions, stripe rust had the lowest level in 2014 during
the past 15 years in the Pacific Northwest. Commercial fields generally did
not need fungicide application. The low level of stripe rust was due to the
cold winter plus the hot, dry summer.
Spring-planted barley eligible
for new farm safety net option
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA), Spokane Regional Office,
reminds farmers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington of the deadline to elect
the Actual Production History (APH) Yield Exclusion option for 2015 springplanted barley.
A provision of the 2014 Farm Bill, APH Yield Exclusion can provide relief
to farmers affected by severe weather, including drought. The decision to
elect the yield exclusion must be made before the sales closing date for crop
insurance coverage on their 2015 crops.
The final date for spring barley (a
spring-seeded crop) is March 16.
APH Yield Exclusion allows eligible
farmers affected by severe weather
to receive a higher approved yield on
their insurance policies through the
federal crop insurance program. Yields
can be excluded from farm actual
production history when the actuarial
documents provide that the county
average yield for that crop year is at
least 50 percent below the 10 previous
consecutive crop years’ average yield.
Additional information about APH
Yield Exclusion and maps for eligible
commodities is located on RMA’s farm
bill website at rma.usda.gov.
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POLICY MATTERS
Regulatory reform bill requires
cheapest option to be selected
From NAWG
In mid-January, the House of Representatives approved
H.R. 185, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015. The
legislation is first in what is expected to be a year of congressional activity addressing regulatory burdens. H.R.
185 requires that government agencies select the least costly option when developing a regulation. The bill’s sponsor, former House Agriculture Committee chairman and
current chair of the Judiciary Committee, Bob Goodlatte,
stated, “The effects of excessive government regulation are
real for the American people. The regulatory burden for
each American household adds up to $15,000.” Congress
is expected to address additional regulatory reform efforts
during the 114th Congress.
New EPA ag advisor brings
30 years experience to job
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) announced
that Ron Carleton will be the
next agriculture counselor
to EPA Administrator Gina
McCarthy. Carleton returns
to Washington, D.C., from
Colorado where he has been the
deputy agriculture commissioner for the state. Prior to working
in Colorado, Carleton served as
former Colorado Representative
John Salazar’s chief of staff and also held several other
positions on Capitol Hill over the last 30 years.
Washington’s Ecology releases
draft water-quality rule
In early January, the Washington State Department of
Ecology (Ecology) released a draft water-quality rule that
raises the fish-consumption rate to 175 grams a day, about
Deadline reminder
Don’t forget, the deadline to update yield history
and/or reallocate base acres is Feb. 27, 2015. Farm
owners and producers can choose between the new
2014 Farm Bill established programs, Agriculture Risk
Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) through
March 31, 2015.
one serving per day, and seeks to give Ecology the authority to ban certain chemicals if safer alternatives can be
found. The draft rule is tied to a toxics-reduction package
that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will propose to the 2015
Legislature.
“We believe Washington state is in the best position to
choose water quality standards that reflect our environmental and economic priorities,” said Ecology Director
Maia Bellon in a press release. “Our proposal makes
significant improvements in protecting Washington
residents, but also sets achievable targets for industry and
local governments.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has started
its own rule-making process in case the state fails to finalize a rule by the end of this year.
The public review period will be open until March 23,
2015, and public hearings will be held around the state
during the first part of March. For more information, visit
Ecology’s website at ecy.wa.gov.
Five projects in Washington
selected for RCPP funding
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom
Vilsack recently announced that 115 high-impact projects across all 50 states and Puerto Rico, including five
in Washington state, will receive more than $370 million
in federal funding as part of the new USDA Regional
Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). In addition,
these projects will leverage an estimated $400 million
more in partner contributions to improve the nation’s
water quality, support wildlife habitat and enhance the
environment. “This is an entirely new approach to conservation ef-
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POLICY MATTERS
forts,” said Vilsack. “These partnerships empower communities to set priorities and lead the way on conservation
efforts important for their region. They also encourage
private sector investment so we can make an impact that’s
well beyond what the federal government could accomplish on its own. We’re giving private companies, local
communities and other nongovernment partners a way to
invest in a new era in conservation that ultimately benefits
us all. These efforts keep our land resilient and water clean
and promote economic growth in agriculture, construction, tourism, outdoor recreation and other industries.”
RCPP competitively awards funds to conservation projects designed by local partners specifically for their region.
Eligible partners include private companies, universities,
nonprofit organizations, local and tribal governments and
others joining with agricultural and conservation organizations and producers to invest money, manpower and
materials to their proposed initiatives. With participating
partners investing along with the department, USDA’s $1.2
billion in funding over the life of the five-year farm bill
program can leverage an additional $1.2 billion from partners for a total of $2.4 billion for conservation. Through
RCPP, partners propose conservation projects to improve
soil health, water quality and water-use efficiency, wildlife habitat and other related natural resources on private
lands.
More than 600 preproposals were submitted for RCPP
in 2014.
The projects approved in Washington state are:
• Upper Columbia Irrigation Enhancement Project.
Lead partner: Trout Unlimited Inc. This project will help
fund irrigation efficiency improvements with large irrigators and irrigation districts to modernize water delivery
infrastructure. Enhanced instream flows will benefit critical spawning and rearing areas for Endangered Species
Act fish and provide passage during migration during
seasonal low flows. Complementing multiple existing
conservation plans in the region, the project’s goal is to implement irrigation efficiencies on more than 7,200 irrigated
acres, with more than 500 individual
landowners.
™
• Yakama Nation OnReservation Lower Yakima Basin
Restoration Project. Lead Partner:
Confederated Tribes and Bands of
the Yakama Nation. This project
addresses critical needs for the
integrated conservation and restoration of fish and wildlife habitat,
water quantity and water quality
on the Yakama Reservation in the
lower Yakima River Basin. The actions in this proposal will accelerate
the recovery of threatened, middle
Columbia steelhead on the lower
tributaries of the Yakima River,
which currently produce more than
50 percent of the wild steelhead
population in the Yakima basin.
• Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation Water Quality
and Habitat Improvement Project.
Lead partner: Confederated Tribes
of the Colville Indian Reservation.
The project focuses on reducing
soil erosion and stream sediment
by repairing or removing stream
crossings, decommissioning forest
roads, installing road drainage and
protecting wetland/riparian areas.
In addition, this project will improve
range conditions through feral horse
management and improve wildlife
habitat for the sharp-tailed grouse
and Columbia River redband trout.
• Palouse River Watershed
Implementation Partnership. Lead
partner: Palouse Conservation
District. Through implementation
of the Palouse River Watershed
Management Plan, more than 15
partners will work with producers to address TMDL concerns and
reduce water quality regulatory
action on producers in this area of
Washington and Idaho.
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WL
POLICY MATTERS
ing high priority areas to improve water
quality and habitat for at-risk species,
including Chinook salmon, bull trout
and steelhead. Within focus areas, a
farmer-to-farmer approach will be used
to increase participation and ensure
buy-in from the local community.
For more information, visit the
USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service’s website at nrcs.usda.gov.
Wheat organizations
join Cuba coalition
From U.S. Wheat Associates
U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the
National Association of Wheat Growers
have joined more than 30 other U.S.
food and agriculture organizations in
forming the U.S. Agriculture Coalition
for Cuba (USACC), which seeks to
advance trade relations between the U.S.
and Cuba and end the embargo policy.
Following the Obama Administration’s
shift in U.S. policy on Cuba, the U.S.
Treasury Department announced
sweeping changes in trade regulations
that represent another very encouraging
step toward opening the Cuban market.
“We are still analyzing the effect the
new regulations may have on wheat
trade with Cuba,” said USW President
Alan Tracy. “Our initial read is that new
rules related to banking relationships,
timing of payment for imports and more
liberal rules on vessel logistics are the
kind of regulatory change we hoped to
see.”
Tracy was one of several industry
leaders who addressed the media at a
news conference introducing USACC
Jan. 8, 2015, in Washington, DC.
USACC is now organizing a
“Learning Journey to Cuba” for coalition
members. This would be the first major
U.S. business delegation to Cuba since
President Obama’s announcement.
Family farms lead U.S. agriculture
A U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS)
study published in December says that family farms dominate U.S. ag
production and account for 97 percent of all U.S. farms and 85 percent
of farm production. Other conclusions the study draws are:
•S
mall farms make up 90 percent of the farm count and operate
half of the farmland. Most farm production, however, occurs on
midsize and large-scale family farms.
•T
he nonfarm economy is critically important to operators of small
family farms. Because many small-farm households rely on offfarm sources for most of their income, general economic policies,
such as tax or economic-development policy, can be as important to
them as traditional farm policy.
•T
hirty-two percent of U.S. farms have a principal operator at least
65 years old. Some potential replacement operators are already
working as secondary operators on multiple-generation farms.
•D
ifferent farm programs affect distinctly different sets of farmers.
Commodity program payments largely flow to moderate-sales,
midsize
and large farms;
the largest
share of working-land conserFarms,
Production,
and Farmland
(continued)
vation payments go to midsize farms; and land-retirement conserDifferent
types of largely
farms go
account
for theoff-farm
production
of specific
vation payments
to retirement,
occupation
and
commodities.
low-sales farms. Most farms, however, do not receive government
• farm-related
Midsize and large-scale
family
dominate
the affected
productionbyofthem.
cotton
payments
andfarms
are not
directly
(83 percent of production), cash grain (71 percent), and hogs (66 percent).
The
report, “Structure and Finances of U.S. Farms: Family Farm
• Large-scale and nonfamily farms dominate the production of high-value crops
Report,
Edition,”
was written
(76 2014
percent
of production)
and dairy by
(70Robert
percent).Hoppe of USDA’s
Economic
Research
Service.
To
read
the
whole report, visit the ERS
• Small farms produce roughly half of poultry (mostly under production
website
at
ers.usda.gov/publications.aspx.
contracts), hay, and other livestock.
Distribution of the value of production for selected commodities, 2011
Percent of value of production
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
7.2
10.6
18.1
15.4
7.7
37.1
17.5
21.0
51.1
35.0
59.4
16.7
48.3
28.8
35.9
26.3
23.5
47.7
40.4
24.8
17.0
31.5
12.6
Poultry
Hay
14.7
34.7
29.9
17.9
56.4
8.5
22.1
35.5
21.4
16.9
5.9
20.8
Other
Beef
1
livestock
Hogs
Cash
Dairy
grains
and
soybeans
12.7
11.4
23.2
25.5
8.9
High- Cotton
All
value
com2
crops
modities
Commodity
Nonfamily farm
Midsize family farms
Large-scale family farms
Small family farms
11
Other
livestock
covers less
common
species,
such as
bees, aquaculture,
mink, rabbits,
other fur-bearing
“Other
livestock”
covers
lesslivestock
common
livestock
species,
such as bees,
aquaculture,
mink,
animals,
deer,
elk, llamas,animals,
etc. It alsobison,
includesdeer,
grazing
cattle—horses,
sheep, and
goats—
rabbits,bison,
other
fur-bearing
elk,livestock
llamas,other
etc.than
It also
includes grazing
livestock
otherare
than
cattle—horses,
are common specializations among small
which
common
specializationssheep,
amongand
smallgoats—which
farms.
2 farms.
Vegetables,
fruits/tree nuts, and nursery/greenhouse.
2
Vegetables, fruits/tree nuts, and nursery/greenhouse.
Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service, 2011 Agricultural Resource Management Survey
Source: USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service and Economic Research Service,
2011 Agricultural Resource Management Survey.
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BUILDING A FOUNDATION
As we welcome our new Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG)
Ambassadors, Morgan Adams and Matthew Warren, the Foundation thought it would be a
great opportunity to catch up with our past WAWG Ambassadors.
Maya Wahl, ritzville, 2014
In May of 2014, Maya was elected to the Washington State FFA
Officer Team serving as the state FFA secretary. She has been
visiting Washington state schools, addressing the importance of
agriculture and calling students to action to pursue a career in ag.
Maya especially enjoys the service aspect of FFA, giving back to
all those who support the Washington FFA organization. She has
participated in numerous community service projects throughout
the year and credits her time as a WAWG Ambassador to helping
her prepare for her time as a state officer. Maya’s favorite event as
an ambassador was the Olympia trip. “I learned so much about
how government affects agriculture and was inspired to become
a lobbyist myself,” she said. Once Maya retires her FFA jacket in
May, she plans to attend Kansas State University, pursuing a degree in agricultural communications and journalism with a minor in political science. Maya reflected on her time
serving WAWG, saying, “The connections I made through my year serving the Washington
wheat growers are irreplaceable and will hopefully last a lifetime as I proceed through life
with a passion for agriculture and a drive to better our industry. My time as an ambassador
solidified my passion to becoming a lobbyist and serving the agricultural industry.”
Max Mielke, davenport, 2014
Max just completed his first semester at Washington State
University (WSU) where he is majoring in agricultural economics and contemplating a second major in agricultural food systems and business economics. Max is currently involved in hall
government for Scott Coman Residence Hall and has taken on
another leadership role, serving as pledge class president of Phi
Kappa Theta. He attends the Ag Econ Club and is involved with
Agriculture Future of America (AFA). He recently traveled to
Kansas City for a conference that was designed to build leaders
in agriculture. A highlight serving as a 2014 Washington Wheat
Ambassador was traveling over to Olympia and seeing a different
side of the wheat industry. “I saw how complex issues involving
the industry and agriculture are. I realized that we really need people to fight for wheat
growers. I enjoyed being able to spread awareness of the wheat industry while meeting
many people interested in agriculture.” Max gave us some insight as to what the WAWG
Ambassador program can offer our youth in the wheat industry. ”Serving as an ambassador has opened up so many doors and has confirmed my strong passion for agriculture. I
appreciate the opportunity to serve the wheat industry and thank all those that made this
wonderful experience possible.”
Congratulations
Congratulations to 2014 Barbara Pyne Herron Scholarship recipient Brandon Nickels who
was recently named Outstanding Junior in Agriculture at the WSU College of Agricultural,
Human and Natural Resource Sciences’ honors awards program.
Working to advance the
small grains industry
by building support for
programs and activities
that increase public
awareness of farming.
Calendar:
• WWF meeting on
Monday, June 8,
at the Washington
Wheat Foundation
Building in Ritzville,
Wash.
Reminders:
• The Jerry Minore
Scholarship winner will
be announced in late
February.
• WSU students, check
out the College of
Agricultural, Human,
and Natural Resource
Sciences scholarship
listings available at
ctll.cahnrs.wsu.edu/
learning/scholarships
• Watch for the 2015
June Shoot date
and get your guns
and ammo ready
to support the
Foundation!
• The annual golf
tournament date to be
announced soon.
Washington Wheat Foundation: P.O. Box 252, Ritzville, WA 99169 • (509) 659-1987 • wawheat.org
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WL
FEATURE
Uncovering
the details
How Gov. Inslee’s carbon reduction
proposals might hit the state’s
agriculture industry
By Trista Crossley
In mid-December,
Washington State Governor Jay
Inslee announced his proposals
for reducing the state’s carbon
pollution through two main avenues: a carbon cap-and-trade plan
and a low-carbon fuel standard. On
the surface, his plans seem to bypass
the wheat industry, but dig a little deeper, and the impact becomes clear. Under
these proposals, wheat farmers could end
up paying more for fertilizer and fuel and
possibly lose funding for shortline rails.
Back in 2008, the legislature mandated
carbon reductions, but never outlined a
plan to achieve those cuts. The mandate said
Washington needed to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, with additional
reductions by 2035 and 2050. In a state that contributes approximately .3 percent of greenhouse gases
worldwide, according to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration, that’s an overall reduction of .15 percent.
According to Gov. Inslee, his proposals would get the
state on track to meet those goals. See Chart 1 for a breakdown of where the state’s carbon emissions come from.
Critics of the governor’s proposals say they would
hurt the economy and force Washington consumers to
pay more for electricity, gas and food with little guarantee of actually helping the environment. At the 2014
Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, the members of
the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG)
agreed with those critics and passed a resolution opposing
state-level cap and trade, carbon tax or low-carbon fuel laws
or rules.
“Farmers are the original environmentalists,” WAWG
Executive Director Michelle Hennings said. “Without clean,
healthy air, water and soil, we can’t grow crops. We care about
the environment and want to make sure it is sustainable, but
any environmental action needs to be done in a way that doesn’t
penalize the people that grow our food.”
Here’s a closer look at Gov. Inslee’s proposals and how they might affect
the Pacific Northwest wheat industry, both directly and indirectly.
The Carbon Pollution Accountability Act of 2015
At its heart a cap-and-trade system for carbon, the Carbon Pollution
Accountability Act (CPAA) would require the state’s major polluters to
pay for their emissions and encourage them to invest in cleaner technology and improve their efficiency. The state would set an annual limit
to the total amount of carbon that emitters could release into the air.
Companies would purchase “allowances” for the pollution they emit,
with the number of allowances decreasing each year. In a similar
FEATURE
He said that approximately 60 percent of the potatoes
grown in the state are processed and exported to other
countries, with the remaining 40 percent going domestic,
in both fresh and processed form.
“We are very concerned that the proposal is going to put
Washington state at a competitive disadvantage, not only
globally but in the state,” Voigt explained. “Even more concerning is the potato processors that are located here could
divert production to other states or even other countries
because it is cheaper to do business there.”
Voigt said the potato processing industry has very little
room for improvement as most of the plants are already as
efficient and as sustainable as possible. They are run using
natural gas and have developed methods that recapture
most, if not all, waste.
“I think we all need to take a look at what our carbon
emissions are and to make improvements and reduce
carbon emissions, but in the potato industry, there is no
room for improvement. Literally, there is nothing we can
do to improve,” he said. “This plan doesn’t work for us. It
is a flat out tax.”
The Agrium Kennewick Fertilizer Operation in
Kennewick is another facility on the list that would fall
under the cap-and-trade plan, but plant manager Jon Berg
Marine
4% %
l1
i
Ra as 1%
G
e 4%
Oil
8%
On-road
diesel
9%
Industrial
17%
Gas
3%
Oil
<1%
Transportation
46%
Electricity
Consumption
17%
Comm
ercial 4
%
Residential 6%
Gas
5%
Coal
14%
Gas
3%
Oil 1%
The biggest, ag-related industry the CPAA hammer could fall on would be the state’s food processors.
Chris Voigt, executive director of the Washington State
Potato Commission in Moses Lake, pointed out that the
Columbia Basin has the country’s largest concentration of
potato processors, and virtually every one of them is on
the list.
Coal
<1%
Aviation
8%
Ag 6%
The proposal would have to be approved by the state
legislature in order to be implemented. It is expected to
face stiff opposition in the Republican Senate, while the
Democratic-majority House is seen as more open to the
idea.
Industrial
processes
5%
Ag
6%
Waste
4%
st
Wa
According to the governor’s website (governor.wa.gov),
the system would impact roughly 130 facilities and fuel
distributors that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of
greenhouse gases per year. The companies on that list
include Alcoa, Boeing, BP Cherry Point Refinery, ConAgra
Foods, Georgia-Pacific, Longview Fibre and Washington
State University, just to name a few.
Chart 1: Where do Washington’s greenhouse
gas emissions come from?
Oil 1%
system in California, allowances are currently being sold
for just more than $11 each. The revenues generated by the
system, estimated by the governor to be about $1 billion
per year, would be used for transportation, education and
other government programs.
WL
On-road
gasoline
23%
Gas
5%
Coal
<1%
Total 2011 GHG emissions:
91.7 million metric tons CO2e
Because of the abundance of clean energy from
hydropower, most of Washington state’s greenhouse
gas emissions come from transportation sources.
Source: governor.wa.gov and
the Washington State Department of Ecology
said the governor’s proposal likely wouldn’t have many
long-term effects on it.
“I can tell you that Agrium as a whole understands the
importance of controlling greenhouse gases, and they’ve
made some pretty serious, company-wide efforts to reduce
emissions,” he said. “We are part of that.”
The Kennewick plant manufactures liquid nitrogen
fertilizer, which is sold throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Berg said his plant is on track to install the necessary
equipment to bring carbon emissions below the 25,000
metric ton threshold within a few years.
A low-carbon fuel standard
While details are still scarce, Gov. Inslee is considering
a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) that would require
blending gas and diesel fuels with low-carbon ethanol
and biodiesel or buying credits for alternative fuels. The
Washington State Department of Ecology is currently
drafting a clean fuel standard and will be soliciting comments from legislators, stakeholders and the public.
Few people dispute the fact that a LCFS would likely
result in increased fuel costs for consumers. The real argument is in how much, with estimates all over the board.
WL
FEATURE
Chart 2: What an increase in
fuel costs could look like
$45,000
$40,000
Total cost of fuel
$35,000
$30,000
$10,600
$3,300
Holmes said the best estimate of how much a Washington LCFS would cost
consumers comes from a study done by the Boston Consulting Group, an international consulting firm that has lots of experience in the petroleum industry.
Studying California’s system, which kicked into gear in 2011, they estimated
that consumers there will eventually see a $.33 to $1.06 increase per gallon in the
cost of fuel (see Chart 2).
“We aren’t against finding ways to reduce carbon emissions, but this is not
the right tool to do it,” Holmes said. “There are other alternatives that are less
complex, less costly, that will still achieve the reductions that are required.”
$25,000
The other way a LCFS could impact wheat farmers is a little less direct, but
still very painful. Many critics worry that if the governor uses an executive
order to implement an LCFS, it will derail any possible transportation revenue
package that might come out of the legislature this session.
$20,000
$15,000
$10,000
$5,000
0
is going to be costly to consumers,” he explained.
$.33/gal
$1.06/gal
A rise in fuel costs will hit
Washington wheat growers directly in the checkbook at a time
when grain prices are depressed,
but input costs are rising. Using
the Boston Consulting Group’s
figures, a farm that bought 10,000
gallons of fuel a year at an average price of $3/gal could expect to
pay anywhere from $3,300 up to
$10,600 more each year.
Brandon Houskeeper, government affairs director for the Association of
Washington Business (AWB), said that either a transportation package or a
low-carbon fuel standard will likely result in an increase in gas prices. So by
implementing more than one option, he said, “you’ll be hitting the same exact
commodity with another price increase. The low-carbon fuel standard effectively kills a transportation package by taxing the same source.”
And why is the wheat industry so keen on getting a transportation package
passed as soon as possible? Without one, the Palouse River and Coulee City
The three branches of the Palouse River and Coulee City Railroad
A bill mandating a LCFS stands
little chance of passing the Senate,
and there are fears that Gov. Inslee
intends to impose the standards
through an executive order.
Frank Holmes, Western States
Petroleum Association’s director for
the Northwest Region and Marine
Issues, said a LCFS is a bad idea for
any state to consider. Until more
information is available, it is widely
assumed that any Washington
LCFS system would be similar to
California’s, and Holmes said that
system doesn’t work very well.
“There are a lot of feasibility issues, there are insufficient quantities
of low-carbon fuel to comply, and it
Source: WSDOT
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WL
FEATURE
(PCC) shortline rail system (see map)
is in danger of falling further behind
in needed repairs and maintenance.
Currently, the system is limping
along on $2.4 million that was allocated to it in the 2013 Legislative
Session for basic safety and repairs,
including more than 80 at-grade rail
crossings. Rail groups estimate the
system needs the state to invest $63
million over the next six years in order to get it to a self-sustaining level
(that’s in addition to the $62 million
of private sector investments that
have been made since 2007).
Bob Westby, PCC Railway System
manager, said the system, which
includes about 300 miles of track,
ranges from fair to good condition.
He acknowledged that there are
parts that need improvements in
order to support some of the large,
private investments that have been
made. Those recommendations will
be included in the Washington State
Department of Transportation’s strategic plan for the PCC System which
is scheduled for adoption in March
and outlines $50 million in investments. Some of the top priorities
include improving seven miles of
state-owned track between Cheney
and the Geiger Spur near Airway
Heights and about 15 bridges on
the P&L Branch from Marshall to
McCoy.
When the state began acquiring the PCC in 2004, it came with
years of deferred maintenance. At
this point, Westby said parts of the
system, especially the bridges, are
nearing the end of their useful life.
There are also speed restrictions in
place on parts of the PV Branch due
to the use of light rail. If the system
doesn’t get any funding in this legislative session, he said it will continue
to degrade.
“The best thing we can hope for is
for shippers to continue to use the system. This revenue helps the rail operators
on the PCC to be able to increase the amount of maintenance they can perform
along the system,” he said. “The legislature ultimately makes the decision on
the level of funding allocated to the system.”
Gearing up for a fight
WAWG has signed onto the Washington Climate Collaborative, a group
spearheaded by the AWB, that opposes the governor’s carbon cap-and-trade
plan and low-carbon fuel standard. Houskeeper said the group simply feels that
the governor’s approach is the wrong one for Washington state.
“What the governor is proposing is a $1 billion tax on energy when we already use carbon-friendly energy. That will drive up costs for businesses across
the state,” Houskeeper said, “We are working on several different alternatives
that reduce carbon without adding financial costs to goods and services.”
Some of the alternatives the group is exploring include promoting the research and development of technology, incentivizing renewable energy sources
and investing in alternative fuels.
“The question is, do you want the stick approach or the carrot approach,”
Houskeeper asked. “We are more in favor of the carrot approach.”
A recent statewide survey showed 70 percent of those polled supported the
governor’s proposed cap-and-trade plan. WAWG President Larry Cochran said
the governor and legislators need to hear from farmers on why the proposals
are bad for agriculture and how they might hurt one of the state’s top industries.
“Now, more than ever, we need to stand up and make our voices heard,”
Cochran said. “We need every available body to come with us to Olympia so we
can educate our elected officials, especially those from the west side, on agriculture and on the harm these proposals could do to our livelihoods.”
WAWG will be leading a delegation of farmers to Olympia Feb. 15-17 to meet
with as many legislators as possible to discuss issues affecting agriculture. To
get involved, call the WAWG office at (509) 659-0610.
COMPOST
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WL
FEATURE
In the director’s chair
Ben Thiel takes over RMA’s Spokane Regional Office
By Trista Crossley
There’s a new director in town.
When Dave Paul, the 19-year director of the Risk
Management Agency’s (RMA) Spokane Regional Office,
announced his retirement last summer, it set off a nationwide hunt to find his replacement.
That search eventually settled in
Kansas City, on regulatory rule and
policy writer Ben Thiel.
A southeast Idaho native who grew
up on a small farm that raised alfalfa,
malting barley and potatoes, Thiel
gained an appreciation for a rural
and agrarian way of life but said he
never felt pressure to take over the
family farm from his father. Instead,
after graduating from Idaho State
University in 1999, he began pursuing a career in what he called the
“business relationship” side of agriculture. He managed grain elevators
in Nebraska and Idaho before accepting a U.S. Department of Agriculture
Farm Service Agency position as an
inspector and auditor of agriculture
storage facilities. That job took him back east and exposed
him to what seemed like an exotic set of new crops, such
as peanuts and cotton.
Thiel’s next career move sent him to Kansas City doing
compliance work on auditing issues with grain elevators.
He also discovered some new hobbies, such as judging
competitive barbecue events and competing in spicy
wing-eating contests. While in Kansas City, Thiel moved
to the RMA and began writing policy provisions for insurance plans, such as the Area Risk Protection Insurance
(ARPI) and individual crop policies, such as onions and
small grains. Policy questions that worked their way up
from the producer, to the agent, to the insurance company
and finally to the RMA often landed on Thiel’s desk for
him to answer.
“I was sort of an authority on answering certain questions and interpreting policy provisions,” he said. Thiel
spent six years as a policy writer in Kansas City before
accepting the Spokane job.
Thiel said his career trajectory has been more by happenchance and opportunity than a charted course, but the
desire to stay in an ag-related field has remained constant.
One of the things he is looking forward to, after years of
working mostly with insurance companies at the national
level, is to establish a more direct
connection with local producers to
address their specific crop insurance
concerns.
“I can’t always make the changes
they would like, but I have the ability
to be their advocate,” he explained. “I
can be a resource to help the producers in our region better meet their
risk management needs.”
As Thiel settles into his new role,
one of the things he’d like to focus
on is producer education, specifically
filling in gaps between the misperception of how crop insurance
should work versus how it actually
works. One of the complaints he often hears from producers is that they
buy crop insurance every year, but
only collect on it in certain years.
“If you aren’t collecting every year, it probably means
you are having good years,” he said. “I don’t see where
that is bad. I’d like to make it so crop insurance is equitable, reasonable and a reliable form of risk management
for producers.”
Although Thiel will be dealing with many of the crops
grown in his region (Washington, Idaho, Oregon and
Alaska), he expects to be of particular help to small grain
growers because of his background.
“My greatest subject matter expertise is with small
grains—wheat, barley, oats—and that comes from growing up on a farm that raised malt barley and working in
the grain elevator business and handling those grains,”
he explained. “In addition, there’s working with all levels
of crop insurance that involve wheat and barley. Coming
as a director to this region that has a substantial amount
of acreage dedicated to these commodities, I bring a lot of
knowledge and have an active interest in further improving crop insurance for these commodities.”
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WL
FEATURE
Here are Thiel’s thoughts on several subjects:
On the new farm bill programs, Price Loss Coverage
(PLC), Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and the
Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO).
I think Congress’ intent with the farm bill was to move
away from subsidized farming and the elimination of
direct payments. Although the crop insurance program
is subsidized, producers do pay money to get crop insurance. They are putting some skin in the game.
SCO is basically another layer of coverage where you
can offset your risk and shift it to area-based protection.
That’s a new concept for this region, and some producers
may benefit from that option if they typically yield better
than the county average.
On producer complaints that premiums are making
crop insurance unaffordable.
If a particular area has had a high loss ratio, meaning
there has been more indemnity paid out than premiums
paid in, that can increase the insurance rate over time.
Essentially, the Federal Crop Insurance Act mandates that
we balance losses being paid out by premiums paid in.
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When someone has this argument, then it’s usually one of
two things: either somebody says I’m not covered enough
or it is too expensive.
There’s always somebody who’s going to think crop
insurance is too expensive. This year it’s more the case of
the other, farmers saying “I have certain losses that just
aren’t being adequately covered.” When somebody makes
that statement, you have to look at all the aspects that are
involved. You review the policy to see if it worked as designed. Changes and improvements to the policy are done
over time to provide more adequate coverage but also to
avoid fraud, waste and abuse. If an area is experiencing
high levels of loss and a lot of indemnities are paid out
over time, that has to be looked at as well. What we don’t
want to have happen is that the coverage is inadequate
and is too expensive.
On crop insurance not recognizing that different
classes of wheat command different market prices.
We recognize winter wheat and spring wheat. All
wheat planted in the fall is lumped together, and all wheat
planted in the spring is lumped together for price discov-
ery. We do have a substantial amount of acreage for certain
classes of wheat here in Washington, so we do have some
clout. But if something were to change on that, it would
have to be done nationwide.
Mark Grant & Blaine Bickelhaupt
Introduce Our New Company
On the yield exclusion being made available for 2014
fall-planted crops.
It’s only available on 2015 spring crops. We’ll pick up fall
crops going into the future.
On critics who say crop insurance subsidies are too
high.
If you want to get rid of something, you have to consider
the consequences. Getting rid of subsidies, you could see
more instability in the agriculture sector, less diversification in agriculture, less protection for the small farmer.
There aren’t a lot of economic drivers in rural America
other than agriculture. If you don’t provide a safety net
for producers so they have that protection to operate
from year to year, you’ll have more failures. It could lead
to some sort of buyout of the agriculture sector or drive
up food prices. We have a stable food supply, and that’s a
form of national security. If you take subsidies away, you
are saving taxpayer money, but there are always other
consequences.
As experienced farm real estate experts, we have
established this partnership to manage farm and
ranch properties in both Washington and Idaho.
• Knowledge and Management skills you can trust
• Maximizing the value of managed farms and ranches
• Strategies and goals guided by owner direction
Blaine Bickelhaupt
509-520-5280
blaineb@nwfm.co
Mark Grant
509-520-1906
Mark@nwfm.co
254 E Main St.
Dayton WA 99328
509-382-3155
509-382-3045 (Fax)
www.northwestfarmland.com
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WL
FEATURE
Filling up a fuel plan
Confusion still lingers
around SPCC requirements
By Trista Crossley
FEATURE
More than six months have passed since Congress
passed the Water Resources Reform and Development
Act that included an exemption from the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) Spill Prevention Control and
Countermeasure (SPCC). But based on the number of
people attending Kenneth Mattson’s convention breakout
session on SPCC plans, confusion lingers on who needs a
plan and what that plan should look like.
Before the exemption was passed, any farmer who had a
total of 1,320 gallons or more of aboveground fuel storage was required to have a SPCC plan. If a single tank
had 5,000 gallons or more of capacity or the total storage
capacity was 10,000 gallons or more, farmers had to have a
professional engineer certify their plan.
Under the 2014 exemption, operations that have less
than 6,000 gallons of total aboveground storage capacity
and no history of a spill are exempt from having to have
a SPCC plan. In addition, tanks of less than 1,000 gallons
do not have to be counted in the total. Farmers with more
than 6,000 total gallons of fuel storage will need either
a self-certified plan or a plan certified by a professional
engineer.
A self-certified plan is required when:
• Total storage capacity is more than 6,000 but less than
20,000 gallons;
• No single tank has more than 10,000 gallons of capacity; and
• There’s no history of a spill.
A plan must be certified by a professional engineer if:
•T
otal aboveground storage is more than 20,000 gallons;
or
• There is a history of reportable fuel discharge.
To complicate matters even more, the 2014 legislation
also called for a study to be conducted by EPA and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to determine if the aboveground, 6,000 gallon total poses a significant discharge risk
to water. Based on the results of that study, the exemption
level may be lowered, but cannot go below 2,500 gallons.
The results of that study are expected by mid-2015.
With a background in tank and equipment sales,
Mattson has been helping farmers with their SPCC plans
for the past two years. He explained that seven or eight
years ago, the EPA started to focus on regulating the fuel
storage tanks used in agriculture. The SPCC rule, he said,
is all about secondary containment and trying to prevent a
spill from going down a ditch or getting to a stream.
“Let’s consider a rain storm,” he said. “If you had a situ-
WL
ation where you had 50 gallons of fuel on the ground and
it started to rain, where is that stuff going? Is it going to
stay on your property or move down the road?”
For farmers that meet the requirements for a selfcertified plan, there is an online document they can fill
out to evaluate their current fuel storage and identify any
secondary containment needs. Farmers aren’t required to
send the plan to the government, but it should be made
accessible to anybody who works on the farm. The plan
should be reviewed every year and needs to be updated
every 5 years or whenever a change in storage capacity is
made. EPA’s template can be found on their website at
epa.gov/OEM/content/spcc/tier1temp.htm.
In general,
SPCC plans
“Let’s consider a rain storm. If
have 4 basic
you had a situation where you
sections to
had 50 gallons of fuel on the
them. The first
ground and it started to rain,
part is to take
inventory of all
where is that stuff going? Is it
aboveground
going to stay on your property
fuel containor move down the road?”
ers larger than
—Kenneth Mattson
1,000 gallons
to determine
which category you fall into. The next piece deals with secondary containment and whether or not you have a plan
in case of a spill. As Mattson said, sometimes that plan is
as simple as putting a ditch around a tank to make sure
that if fuel leaks, it doesn’t mix with water. The next part of
the plan deals with the operation of a farm’s fuel tanks.
“Generally, there are two times that a tank is going
leak,” Mattson said. “When you fill it and when you
dispense it. You want to come up with a procedure for
dispensing the fuel that is fool proof. The other side of the
equation is the filling of the tank. The rule is, you don’t fill
tanks more than 90 percent. Everybody should know that
rule. The problem there is the farmer is usually not the
guy filling the tank.” He recommended that level gauges
be installed in all tanks so anybody filling a tank can easily see when it’s 90 percent full.
The final part of the plan deals with training workers and creating a contact sheet listing emergency phone
numbers.
One problem Mattson said he encounters regularly
when doing surveys of storage systems is farmers using
the wrong type of tank, such as an underground tank for
aboveground storage. He explained that aboveground
tanks have openings for vents, pumps and gauges, while
WL
FEATURE
underground tanks generally only
have one hole for a pump.
“If you use that same tank above
ground, you don’t have the vents
on the tank,” he said. “Air pressure
could cave it in. It has to do with
how fast you are taking product
out.”
Two other issues Mattson runs
into is DIY electrical wiring and
the fact farmers don’t often understand that different types of fuel
need to be vented differently.
“All connections to pumps need
to be explosion proof,” he said.
“The farmer doesn’t know that’s a
rule; he didn’t hire an electrician
to come out. He just went down to
Lowes and got some wiring.”
Mattson said there are all kinds
of secondary containment answers, from the afore-mentioned
ditches to berms to portable spill
kits, but the solutions are site
specific. For those farmers that
feel overwhelmed and aren’t sure
what they need to do, this is where
consultants like Mattson can help.
Besides understanding exactly
what the SPCC plan needs to look
like, consultants can spot trouble
areas that farmers don’t notice
and help them implement the best
solutions. Services usually range
from simple consultations to creating plans that a certified engineer
will sign off on.
And for those farmers who
say they aren’t anywhere near a
stream so they don’t need a SPCC
plan, Mattson said they need to be
able to prove a fuel spill isn’t going
to get to a waterway (through satellite pictures, etc.), and then that
becomes their plan. The important
thing, he stressed, is to have a
plan.
“Even if your plan is goofy,
you are better off having a plan,”
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Mattson said. “What we’ve heard
from enforcement people is they
want to make sure the plan matches
the property. They aren’t going to
tag you for not having a perfect plan,
but they will tag you for not having
a plan because that is the law. This
thing isn’t going away.”
For more information on Mattson
and the services he provides, visit
his website at spccompliant.com. For
more information on SPCC plans
for agriculture, visit EPA’s website
at epa.gov/oem/content/spcc/spcc_
ag.htm.
Considering
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our crop insurance agents live and breathe agriculture.
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809 N. Main
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509-397-4434
kincaidre@colfax.com
www.kincaidrealestate.com
This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
THE PRECISION DECISION:
“The quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate”.
When it comes to agriculture, “precision” has been around since
the beginning of time when man first planted and tilled the
soil. His precision skills where only as good as his information,
imagination and equipment would allow. In today’s times agriculture producers have a vast amount of information and tools
they can use to meet their objectives. It can be overwhelming
at times.
Let’s look at a few things to consider:
You need to start with the basics.
Precision Agriculture
Where do you start?
Map your fields with EM/EC (electro
magnetic/electrical conductivity) equipment
to get a solid base line foundation to know
your fields. Perform zone soil sampling to
know the variations in texture, nutrients and
pH. Create border maps of your fields and
farms for an accurate measurement of what
you’re really farming.
Evaluate current practices
What equipment and potential capabilities do
you have?
What are your needs based on future goals
and objectives?
What Ag Service Providers can
provide solutions?
Make sure your equipment is capable
of meeting your objectives
Seeding
Fertilizer
Chemicals
Equipment
Data management
Prescriptions
Mapping
It is important to keep up with what
precision practices and equipment that
are available
Be sure to ask our
For more information regarding your
Precision Decision, contact:
Specialists about
John Deere
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BLAKE HATCH
JON REDFORD
Integrated Solutions Integrated Solutions
Manager
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509-760-0137
509-346-8186
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WL
FEATURE
Mapping the way with PA
Evergreen Implement uses technology to provide farming solutions
By Kevin Gaffney
Blake Hatch is the go-to expert for precision agriculture at Evergreen Implement. Hatch began his
agriculture career early working on his family’s TriCities-area farm with his six siblings.
“There were four boys and three girls, and all of
us operated tractors, trucks, combines and other
equipment,” said Hatch. “We broke 400 acres out of
sagebrush and built it into a diverse, irrigated farm
operation.”
Their family later developed another, larger farm
near Burbank, Wash., before Hatch earned his degree
from Columbia Basin College. He and one of his
brothers farmed together for a decade.
“Then I went to work for AgriNorthwest as a farm
unit manager,” explained Hatch. “I was with them for
eleven years.”
The next career stop was two years with Watts
Brothers Farms, managing their 100-circle irrigation
operation. Then came a short interruption in Hatch’s
career in agriculture.
“I had the opportunity for a career change. I took a
position in the recycling industry in Colorado. After
two years there, I knew I wanted to get back into the
ag industry again.”
That was when Hatch joined Evergreen Implement
as Integrated Solutions manager in 2008. His territory
is extensive, comprising Adams, Douglas, Lincoln,
Franklin and Grant counties, giving him a mix of irrigated and dryland growers.
“My job title is basically a fancy term for Precision
Agriculture manager, but it is accurate because what
we do is provide solutions,” said Hatch. “We work
directly with each farmer’s operation and devise solutions to their problems or challenges.”
Hatch explained several advantages of utilizing
Precision Ag (PA) technology and equipment. Rate
controllers are a huge cost saver, as they can be used
for spraying, fertilizing and seeding operations,
noted Hatch.
Blake Hatch at Evergreen Implement’s exhibit booth at the Pasco Ag
Show with the PA equipment display. The unit his hand is resting on
is part of the rate controller system, which is used to control the rates
on spraying, fertilizing and seed operations.
“PA enables farmers to make better cropping decisions, determine proper fertilizing levels, reduce trips
over the fields and cut input costs,” said Hatch. “For
irrigators, it helps to optimize the timing and amount
of water to use. And for all farmers, it provides excellent record keeping, which is becoming more important all the time.
“But, it all begins with field mapping. You overlay
field maps with fertility maps and infrared maps.
Yield monitors track and record crop yields for every
field, and that data is compiled over several years to
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WL
FEATURE
build accurate averages. You then determine the best
cropping rotations and fertilizer levels not just for
individual farms, but for specific areas in each field
unit.”
Hatch estimates that about two-thirds of
Evergreen’s growers utilize at least some components of John Deere’s FarmSight precision ag equipment. Ironically, Hatch noted that it isn’t just the
young farmers who are adopting PA technology.
“Of course, we have lots of younger farmers utilizing PA, but there are holdouts in all age groups.
Current PA systems are increasingly user-friendly
for the farmer. This has made it easier for a lot of
seasoned farmers to jump into the game.
“We have quite a few farmers in their 80s who
really love their auto-steer systems. It really helps
reduce driver fatigue while eliminating skips and
overlaps.”
Evergreen schedules two main training seminars
every year at different locations. They also sponsor
specialized training sessions for sprayers and combines. Every PA system sale also includes hands-on
training with the farmer to help familiarize them
with their new systems.
“Many of the farmers are pretty tech-savvy. One
of the biggest challenges is adequately training the
employees on the equipment,” remarked Hatch.
“These are sophisticated, expensive systems, and
it’s important to operate them properly and safely.
Comprehensive training of the operators is very
important to our team.”
As more farmers acquired PA components,
Hatch’s team wondered if there would be a plateau
or leveling off of demand, but that has not proven
to be the case. With the advances in wireless data
transfer and the new equipment being designed in a
way that is very user friendly to owners of the previous generation of equipment, sales have continued
to be strong.
“Also, we all know that farmers are pretty good at
watching for successful trends in what their neighbors are doing. When something is working for
other growers, the word gets around.”
With accuracy now available to the subinch level
with Real Time Kinematic (RTK) technology, a trend
has developed with several dryland farmers teaming up to share the costs of installing an RTK tower,
which can run to more than $20,000.
“Several farms can use the same tower up to 25
miles away, so it works really well for groups of
growers. They can each establish exact field borders,
enjoy pass-to-pass accuracy and have all their mapping and other information available to them.”
With the advent of smart phones and tablet computers, farmers can now access their information
from the cloud at any time from almost anywhere.
“It really is amazing. You can monitor your machinery operating in the field from Hawaii on vacation, if you have access to a wireless connection,”
noted Hatch.
As for where PA technology is headed, Hatch
anticipates that it will be used more extensively in
moisture monitoring to make better cropping decisions in the dryland sector. He believes having more
information enables smarter farm operation choices.
“This last year was an example. There may be
opportunities in the future with wireless moisture
probes and precision soil mapping to make better
agronomic decisions knowing what is below the
surface for moisture and nutrients.
“As I mentioned, we are determined to be problem
solvers for our growers,” stressed Hatch. “We find
the right solutions for each individual farm.”
The future is already here on some automated
operation of equipment. Combine operators can
now remotely bring a tractor pulling a grain cart to
their combine to unload within limited areas of the
harvest field.
“We are not quite to the point of one, manned
combine leading four additional remote-controlled
machines around the harvest field yet,” said Hatch.
“But they are working on that kind of advanced
technology. It could be coming along at some point.
John Deere is very careful to work all the bugs out of
their systems before they release anything for sale.”
Now in his seventh year with Evergreen, Hatch
looks forward to continuing to provide effective
solutions for growers with PA technology. He can
be contacted at (509) 488-5222 or through Evergreen
Implement Inc. online at eiijd.com.
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© 2014 CNH Industrial America LLC. All rights reserved. New Holland Agriculture is a trademark registered in the United States and many other countries,
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countries, owned by or licensed to CNH Industrial N.V., its subsidiaries or affiliates.
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By Steve Claassen
The Washington Grain Commission has underwritten five endowed professorships worth $7 million at
Washington State University (WSU) since the first
one, the Vogel Endowed Chair in Wheat Breeding and
Genetics, was funded in 1990. WSU’s Foundation invests
the money, the interest from which, minus an administrative fee, is used to fund specific research.
The WGC endowments are on my mind now because
the commission met at WSU in January to listen to
researchers tell us what we have gotten for our money’s
worth. In some cases, the returns are obvious. In others,
our questions and comments are meant to guide researchers toward the applied results we can put to work
in our fields.
The university has done a stellar job of investing WGC
money, much better than I have done with my own
investments. But nobody did well during the recession. Our endowments were actually underwater for a
couple of years, which means their value was less than
the initial investment. Which meant several researchers
didn’t get any money for a few years. Things have turned
around since then, and the endowments are now returning real dough on the order of $60,000 or more a year.
The commission views these endowments as our ace in
the hole. By that I mean, the invested funds will continue
to churn out interest to fund research regardless of the
price of wheat or the size of the state’s crop. Since 2014
was the state’s smallest crop since 1991 and with the
possibility of another small crop coming on this summer,
the advantage of the WGC’s endowment strategy begins
to reveal itself.
Good crops and good prices several years in a row
beginning back in 2008 benefited both farmers and the
WGC. Or rather, they benefited the research, marketing
and educational programs the WGC funds. Anticipating
a fall in prices last year, commissioners set a no-increase
budget for 2014/15. In 2015/16, we’ll pull the belt a notch
or two tighter, but we won’t be running around like
Chicken Little. Access to reserves intended to keep funding stable, as well as a commission policy established decades ago which safeguards a year’s budget in advance,
Although we won’t be forced to drastically cut our
budget like states that operate off same-year income,
make no mistake, reductions to various programs are
coming. Everything is on the table, but we will especially
be looking at reducing or eliminating projects we feel
haven’t delivered.
I understand how much research has benefited farmers over the years. Semidwarf wheats, recognition of
the importance of the green bridge, breeding for rust
resistance: none of these benefits would have been possible without research. At the same time, however, I have
come to understand after serving on the commission
the last five years that just because research remains our
priority, we can’t shortchange marketing.
Today’s world wheat market is not, as the car commercial put it, your father’s world wheat market. The
fall of communism and the end of the wildly inefficient
collective farms of the former Soviet Union continues to
stir up the wheat market in good and bad ways. I think it
was Winston Churchill who said that democracy was the
worst form of government, except for all the others. The
same might be said of capitalism. It certainly has turned
the formerly low-yielding but fertile land of the Black Sea
States into a wheat power house.
Looking back over WGC budgets for the last 20 years,
there’s only been one year the WGC’s marketing category
surpassed research. Last year, research funding, even
without figuring the $5 million we contributed to a new
WSU wheat greenhouse, was 37 percent of our budget
while market development was under 21 percent.
I don’t believe I’m the only one of your commissioners
who thinks that allocation is out of whack. The income of
farmers and landlords—and even the input dealers we
do business with—all depend on market demand. With
the world awash in wheat, educating customers about
how the soft white, hard red winter and hard red spring
grown in our state can best meet their needs is simply a
priority.
WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION
The Vogel endowment was a $1.5 million deal that
saw the state, WSU and the WGC cooperatively fund the
chair. Since then, the WGC has independently funded
four other research endowments: 1997, $1.5 million, the R.
James Cook Endowed Chair in Cropping Systems; 2008,
$2 million, the endowed chair in small grain economics;
2009, $1.5 million, the Washington Wheat Distinguished
Professorship; and 2010, $1.5 million, the endowed chair
in small grain extension and research.
in essence working off the previous year’s income, means
the sky will not fall.
I’m not expecting big changes in the upcoming budget. Research projects are long-term investments, and we
can’t cut willy nilly, but even altering the direction of an
aircraft carrier by a couple of degrees today will eventually wind up sending it to another part of the world in
the future.
With endowments at WSU and the WGC’s conservative fiscal policies serving as a backstop for research,
that’s exactly what I’m hoping we can accomplish.
Better late than never
So much for science
The debate over genetically modified crops isn’t about science, it’s about
values, Britain’s chief scientist said, explaining that people with strongly held
beliefs think “there is something wrong with humans modifying nature.”
Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, who now actively campaigns against
his former organization’s anti-GMO bias, put it another way. “There is now an
anti-intellectual element that doesn’t care a hoot about people. There is no
logic or science involved—only ideology and ignorance.” Not a month goes
by without dozens of articles covering the GMO debate. There are currently
no commercially available GMO wheat varieties, and none are expected
for seven to 10 years. But the values controversy continues. Case in point,
Simplot, the giant, Idaho-based agricultural conglomerate, has developed
a new biotech potato, the Innate. It is less susceptible to black spot from
bruising caused by impact and has lower levels of sugar and asparagine, a
potential human carcinogen when cooked. It has even been given formal
approval for use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But if McDonalds, a
company that buys 3.4 billion pounds of potatoes a year for their french fries
and hash browns, doesn’t value the biotech potato—and they don’t—it isn’t
likely to do well in the market.
New president, new opportunities?
He sounds a bit like Indonesia’s Abraham Lincoln, a
man who was raised in a riverbank shack, hates pomp
and is untainted by corruption. Called Jokowi by his
constituents, Joko Widodo is the new president of the
world’s largest Muslim nation, which also happens to
be a growing market for U.S. wheat. Made up of thousands of islands and 250 million people, Indonesia’s
election of Widodo as the country’s seventh president,
is the first time a political outsider has risen to the high office. In 2013/14,
Indonesia was the Northwest’s fourth biggest customer for soft white wheat,
taking 468,000 metric tons.
For the record
The annual lock closure for maintenance, inspection and
repair work of locks within the Walla Walla District of the
Corps of Engineers is scheduled to begin March 7 and continue through April 4. Locks to be closed include McNary,
Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower
Granite.
It’s been 15 years since then-Washington
5th District Rep. George Nethercutt led
the fight to ease sanctions against Cuba, a
fight he picked partly
because of the unhappiness of wheat and
pulse farmers over a
multitude of unilateral
agricultural embargoes
then in effect. Besides
Cuba, U.S. farmers
couldn’t sell into Iran,
North Korea, Sudan
and Libya. One of the architects of the 1996
“Freedom to Farm” farm bill, Nethercutt
said that philosophy should also include
the freedom to market. His effort created a
brief opening, but Congress subsequently
tightened restrictions, forcing Cubans to
operate on a cash, rather than credit basis,
and exports dried up. President Obama’s
decision to re-establish diplomatic ties with
the Caribbean nation does not end the embargo, but it could be the beginning of the
end. Trade with Cuba could translate into 20
million more bushels of wheat being sold
annually. The Communist nation of 11 million located just 90 miles from the U.S. currently has its wheat needs supplied by the
European Union and Canada. A 2010 Texas
A & M study estimated that easing restrictions could mean $365 million in additional
sales of U.S. commodities, which would
inject $1.1 billion into the U.S. economy and
create 6,000 new jobs. It’s unlikely that any
wheat from the Northwest would make it to
Cuba, but if a rising tide lifts all boats, then
lifting the embargo should have a positive effect on prices. U.S. Wheat Associates
(USW) and the National Association of
Wheat Growers think the opportunities are
enormous and are founding members of
the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba. Alan
Tracy, president of USW applauded efforts to
normalize trade relations. “If U.S. trade with
Cuba can increasingly respond to economics
rather than politics, we believe our wheat
market share there will eventually grow from
its current level of zero to around 80 to 90
percent, as in other Caribbean nations.”
WGC REVIEW
WL
Oops, for them
Oops, for us
You know the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans published
every five years by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture
(USDA) and the Department
of Health and Human
Services, which since 1980 have
been urging Americans to cut back
on fat, especially the saturated kind found mainly in animal
foods such as red meat, butter and cheese? Turns out fat
might not be such a bad thing after all and being told to
consume 60 percent of our calories from carb-rich foods like
pasta, bread, fruit and potatoes wasn’t good advice. In fact,
Nina Teicholz, author of “The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter,
Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet,” said that advice
to avoid saturated fats can actually lead to worrisome health
effects. Nevertheless, Teicholz said, the USDA continues
to focus on reasons to condemn red meat, such as how its
production damages the environment, clearly not part of its
dietary purview.
Bindweed in a field of organic wheat.
Oh, please!
Farmers who have tried growing organic wheat would argue
it’s weeds, low production and lack of cash flow that keeps
them from adopting the chemical-free alternative. But according to a new study by Jeff Murray, a marketing professor
at the University of Arkansas’ Walton College of Business, it’s
actually the personal beliefs of farmers, rather than technical or material obstacles that stop them from making the
transition. According to the report, ideology is the reason
why farmers resist change when profit isn’t an issue and
technical or material obstacles such as learning and using
new equipment or keeping different kinds of records are
not a deterrent. The study, funded by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, found “ideological tensions embedded in
the different strategic orientations to agriculture.” Murray
argued it isn’t weeds, but the “intensity of these ideological
tensions that impedes the transition to a more economically
strategic orientation.”
The Canadian Wheat Board is a shadow of its former self,
now that the government has stripped the company of its
monopoly powers as a single-desk seller. The conservative
government made the change, abetted by some Western
Canadian farmers who argued for the opportunity to sell
wheat themselves, believing they could do better. Not so far.
According to an article on the CBC website, for every dollar
a customer paid for wheat under the single desk between
2007 and 2010, the farmer received about 90 cents, while
rail and grain companies received about 10 cents. In 2014,
farmers were getting 41 cents on the dollar, rail companies
11 cents and grain companies 48 cents. Not to mention,
the once vaunted quality of Canadian grain has eroded.
Problems include underweight shipments, lower-thanexpected protein and gluten strength and even occasional
mixtures with other commodities.
Screening the best!
There are many reasons for farmers to buy certified seed rather than brown bagging, that is, saving their
own seed for planting. One of them is seed vigor. According to Jerry Robinson, manager of the Washington
State Crop Improvement Association, research investigating plant vigor has found the larger the seed, the
better the vigor. Nowadays, he said, certified seed is conditioned over screens which keeps uniformity and
seed size at optimum ranges. “The use of certified seed instead of farmer-saved seed makes a very large difference in the quality and size of seed a grower has to plant,” Robinson said. And that’s why Washington has
the highest use of certified wheat seed in the nation at around 90 percent of planted acreage.
WL
WGC REVIEW
Can you dig it? Yes! Grade deflation
If you listened closely, you might have
been able to hear a sigh of relief rolling down the Columbia-Snake River
System on Jan. 6. That was the date
Judge James Robart of the U.S. District
Court’s Western District of Washington
denied an injunction to halt dredging
in the Lower Granite Pool. It’s been nine
years since the channel and berthing
areas at Lewiston and Clarkston have
been dredged, reducing the depth to
seven feet in some places. The channel is supposed to be 14 feet deep.
Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington
Grain Commission, was thrilled with the
judge’s ruling. “The decision reaffirms
our belief that when it comes to what’s
best for the river and the environment,
the Corps of Engineers and its federal
partners know best. But this suit was
never about dredging. It was about
activists looking for another approach to
breach the dams,” Squires said, adding,
“We must maintain our vigilance when
it comes to river navigation. Every wheat
farmer, even those who don’t use the
river to move their grain, benefits from
having an alternative mode of transportation.” Because the suit delayed the
beginning of dredging, an accelerated
schedule started Jan. 12 and will end
Feb. 28 to prevent any interference with
fish passage.
Down, but not out
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
forecasts net farm income for 2014 will
be down 23 percent from
2013, the lowest since
2010, but even then, it’s
still 15 percent higher
than the previous 10year average. Not to
mention, the average
wealth of a farm household is four to five times
that of a nonfarm
household.
Finding out your parents or grandparents only had an eighth-grade education
might make you think they weren’t very smart. Ha! A look at an 1895 eighthgrade final exam from Salinas, Kan., quickly cures you of that idea. The test
had five sections: grammar, arithmetic, history, geography and orthography,
which is “the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard
usage” and took five hours to complete. Can you answer one question from
each section?
1.Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2.If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 pounds, what is it worth at 50 cents per
bushel, deducting 1,050 pounds for tare?
3.Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849,
1865.
4.Name all the Republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
5.Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by
use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Eating quickly, sleeping less
Why do you eat fast food? To save time? That was the
answer to a study from the Economic Research Service
of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those who purchase fast food on a given day not only spend less
time eating and drinking, they also sleep an average
23 minutes less, do less housework and watch less
television than the average for the total population.
Success a Wheat Week at a time
The Washington Grain Commission-sponsored educational program, Wheat
Week, has come in for its share of criticism due to the antigluten juggernaut, but
that tells only one side of the story. The other side was recently revealed in an
email from a teacher at an elementary school outside of Seattle to Wheat Week’s
education director, Kara Kaelber. The fourth-grade teacher told the story of a
student, “Aaron,” who, because of family travel and lack of English, is performing
at a kindergarten level. The teacher wrote, “I’m tremendously fond of Aaron and
have been doing so much to catch him up and pull him in. Still, some days are
just bad days, and my heart breaks.” Then, the educator from Wheat Week came
into the classroom. Aaron, who wants to be a scientist, was fascinated by her, but
his classroom teacher’s expectations were low when it came to filling out the
“Kernel Journal,” a workbook for students to write about what they’ve learned. “I
can’t emphasize how amazing this is,” the teacher wrote. “Aaron is talking to his
classmates about their plants (perhaps his first positive, shared connection with
peers). He was happy and engaged every single lesson, every single day.” The
teacher went on to say that getting kids thinking about the wheat industry has
happened “for heaps of my kids” but was a particular breakthrough “for a little
guy who is having one of the most challenging years of his life.” The teacher’s
final thought, “I hope this program continues for a long, long time.”
WGC REVIEW
You say UAV, they say RPAS
The comeback kid
As a commodity, wheat has taken it on
the chin from critics the last few years, but
there’s another product that has fared much
worse for a long time: butter. In the early
1900s, butter consumption averaged more
than 18 pounds per person annually. It
wasn’t until the mid-1930s that butter began
its precipitous fall. Margarine overtook butter use around 1960. Today, per capita butter
consumption is a little less than six pounds,
but that has been steadily growing the last
10 years and today, surpasses margarine use.
The change is the result of several factors.
One is that margarine isn’t really as healthy
as once thought. And then there’s the explosion of food television shows with many
of the chefs using lots of butter in their
recipes. Speaking of butter, the Japanese
had a shortage of the commodity around
Christmas due to hotter-than-normal
weather and poor milk production in the
country’s dairy regions. That wasn’t good
news for the makers of holiday sponge
cakes, the three ingredients of
which include soft
white wheat,
eggs and
butter.
Humm,
humm, good!
Plant blood is the secret ingredient in
a new approach to create a meat-like
substance that, for all intents and purposes
looks, feels, smells and tastes like the real
thing. Livestock is an antiquated technology,
said Patrick Brown, a Stanford University professor who started the company, Impossible
Foods. Replicating meat, eggs and cheese with
plant matter is the next big thing with several
companies now pursuing the goal. The plant
blood in Brown’s case is derived from the molecule found in
hemoglobin which is extracted from five different plant species. But could fake meat win mainstream adoption? There
are doubters. “One of my food rules is never to eat anything
artificial,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition and
food studies at New York University. “I don’t get the fake
meat movement.”
Flour’s power is grain kryptonite
Flour shipments around the world aren’t expected to be as big as they
were in 2011/12 when 14.5 million metric tons (mmt) were shipped, but
the International Grains Council’s estimate of 13.3 mmt (grain equivalent)
being shipped in 2014/15 is the second annual increase. U.S. wheat farmers are not pleased because flour shipments often squeeze grain exports.
Flour imports into the Philippines from Turkey have played havoc with the
soft white wheat market there. Indonesia, which has become an important
market for soft white wheat as well as other classes, has also seen Turkish
flour imports. It recently shifted from a 20 percent tariff on all flour imports
to a quota system and is expected to import 800,000 tons of flour in wheat
equivalent in 2014/15, up from 300,000 tons the year before. In 2010/11, the
country took slightly more than a million tons. Although Turkey was the No.
1 flour exporter in 2012/13 and 2013/14, it’s expected that Kazakhstan will
regain the lead in 2014/15, shipping 3.2 mmt in wheat equivalent. Turkey is
expected to export 2.7 mmt. The European Union is the third largest flour
supplier, expected to ship 1.1 mmts. Of the countries that import flour,
Uzbekistan is No. 1, Afghanistan No. 2 and Indonesia No. 3.
Advocates say drones may be the next great leap in agricultural technology, but the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) isn’t making it easy for the new sector to get off the
ground. Companies overseas that aren’t hamstrung by FAA
regulations are experiencing a drone boom while those in
the U.S. are thinking of heading to Canada to test their wings
and rotors. Trimble is having their drones made elsewhere
to be able to ship overseas. The FAA has banned all but a
handful of private-sector drone companies as the agency
completes rules for the pilotless aircraft, expected within
the next several years. Last September, the FAA authorized
six filmmaking companies to use drones, bringing to eight
the number of U.S. commercial drone operators. Meanwhile,
there are thousands in Europe. Beyond the FAA controversy,
there’s debate over what exactly to call the flying machines.
Drones sound militaristic and dumb, say some. UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) is frequently used as well as UAS
(unmanned aircraft system). Some have suggested crone for
commercial drone. In Europe, they’re called RPAS for remotely piloted aircraft systems.
WL
Getting better, not older
Adequate nutrition is one of the markers for a long life, so new mortality estimates from the Society of Actuaries that reveal Americans are living longer
lives is good news for those who grow the nation’s food. Between 2000 and
2014, the average lifespan of a 65-year-old man has expanded by 2 years to
86.6 years, while a 65-year-old women’s lifespan has expanded 2.4 years to
88.8 years. The news is not all good, however, as longer lives squeeze retirement savings.
REPORTS
WA S H I N G TO N G R A I N CO M M I S SION
Diving into
the deep end
Wheat Academy tough but worthwhile
By Scott A. Yates
Asked about the value of Washington State
University’s (WSU) recent Wheat Academy, Steve
Reinertsen, director of research at the McGregor
Company, said after 31 years of experience, his goal for
attending was to take away a couple of nuggets of information. But plenty of others at the event, he said, “have
been getting a whole wheelbarrow full.”
Organized by the Wheat and Small Grains Extension
team, the Wheat Academy, held Dec. 16-17 on the first
floor of the Vogel Plant Biosciences Building on the WSU
campus, was a sellout. Its 60 slots were quickly snapped
up, and a waiting list was created. That kind of response
told Drew Lyon, who holds the endowed chair in weed
science at WSU, that there’s pent up demand for in-depth
education about the latest in wheat research. Specifically,
for data only Extension can provide.
“Extension’s strength is research-based information;
we dive into the science more,” he said.
“Dive” is the right word. The academy was no superficial pleasure cruise, notwithstanding the donuts,
Starbucks coffee and other treats available during breaks.
Some of the dozen, 75-minute-long presentations required participants to dust off knowledge from long ago
chemistry and molecular genetics classes. Assuming
they’d had either.
“The expertise of the presenter makes a big difference, as well as the complication of the class, but most
have been good,” said Steve Landt, a wheat, barley, hay
and cattle farmer from Spokane County. He liked the
presentation on the physiology of the wheat plant and its
growth.
Lyon said it’s a struggle to keep presentations rewarding without making them too tough.
“We wanted to step up the level of education. But maybe in some cases we stepped it up more than it needed to
be. Our goal is to find the sweet spot—the place where
Stephen Guy, Washington State University dryland cropping systems
agronomist, takes farmers through various techniques for establishing
their own, on-farm testing, which he called a powerful tool to solve
problems.
people aren’t bored, but where it isn’t so challenging as to
be incomprehensible,” he said.
Randy James, a farmer from Dayton, said it’s not a bad
thing to have to brush up on the scientific end of wheat
farming from time to time, but he acknowledged some
of the material was over his head. He liked the hands-on
presentation explaining how wheat quality translated
into baking.
Trevor DeVore, a crop consultant from McGregor, said
the academy “definitely broadens your horizons.” His
favorite presentation went into chemical reactions in the
soil. For Clayton Lord of Wilbur-Ellis, the academy made
him realize how much more he has to learn. He liked the
weed science and chemical modes of action presentation.
Kevin Johnson, also with Wilbur-Ellis, said the academy
WGC REPORTS
WL
was a good refresher even for people who have
experience. He found the wireworm class particularly valuable.
Charlie Remington, who farms outside The
Dalles, Ore., and attended the academy with his
wife, Dezi, came away with a lot of new information. But there was a drawback.
“There are a lot more things I have to worry
about now,” he said.
Participants at Washington State University’s inaugural Wheat Academy spent two
days in teaching laboratories at the Vogel Plant Biosciences Building learning about
everything from the biology of wireworms and managing nematodes to micronutrient
dynamics and soil acidity.
Lyon believes the absence of the middle group
reflects the period when wheat farming wasn’t
very profitable. More favorable economics the
last few years has had a lot to do with younger
people showing up in larger numbers, not to
mention the fact baby boomers are finally retiring and need to be replaced, he said.
Many of the young crop consultants at the
academy came from farm families and were biding their time for the opportunity to go back to
the farm themselves. Kyle Young, who grew up
on a farm and now works for Helena Chemical,
said his father wanted him to get a real job for 10
years before returning to farm. Trevor Johnson,
who works for Four Star in Colfax, put it another way. “The farm is big enough to need two
people, but it’s not big enough to support two
people.”
Charlie Remington and his wife, Dezi, farmers from The Dalles, Ore., look on as Doug
Engle, food technologist for the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, demonstrates how the falling number test works, during a Wheat
Academy program on end-use quality.
The wheat academy was noteworthy for more
than the information provided. The demographics of the participants was a clear-cut sign wheat
farming is bringing in a new generation of
young people. Attendance at the academy was
not only split about 50/50 between farmers and
crop consultants, it was also divided between
those younger than 35 and those older than 55,
with not many in between.
Although the $100 sign-up for the academy
defrayed most of the costs of the event, funding
from the Washington Grain Commission served
as seed money that allowed the Wheat and
Small Grains Extension team to plan the event.
The WGC also established Lyon’s $1.5 million
endowment, interest from which is plowed back
into his program.
It’s rare when an event is successful enough
during its inaugural outing to be assured of a
return engagement. But even before the Wheat
Academy was over, Lyon was looking forward
to next year’s opportunity for farmers and crop
consultants to put on their diving gear and take
a penetrating look at their favorite crop.
The Wheat Academy was divided almost equally between individual farmers and
those working for private companies. The event also saw a split between younger and
older generations. Syngenta’s Cheney, Wash., operation sent a young group including
(from left) Travis Gordon, Dan Maxfield, Parker Britton and Frank Phillips.
WL
WGC REPORTS
Unlocking secrets to club
membership, club wheat, that is
By Scott A. Yates
It wasn’t long after Robert
Allan arrived in Pullman in
September 1957, pulling a trailer
behind a ’55 Plymouth coupe,
three days late because of a
freak snowstorm and a flat tire,
that his boss, Orville Vogel,
introduced him to club wheat.
It was, as the last line of the
movie “Casablanca” put it, “The beginning of a beautiful
friendship.”
Vogel, who was busy at the time working to release the
world’s first semidwarf soft white wheat, suggested that
Allan, in addition to his other duties as a geneticist, work
on breeding club wheat. From that time to this, the 84
year old has never stopped.
Although he officially retired from the Agricultural
Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
in 1996, Allan continues to come to his office in Johnson
Hall on the Washington State University campus and
persists in crossing wheat germplasm in his backyard
garden (55 crosses last summer). Not to mention, he
wrote a book about his favorite genotype. Published in
2014 and entitled, “Club Wheat,” it is everything you ever
wanted to know about the plant that sports the unique,
compressed head.
Most of the club wheat in the world is grown in a small
area of Eastern Washington. In times of plenty, the wheat
sells for the same price as its close cousin, soft white
wheat. But when there’s not enough—like this year—a
premium can make club the most expensive wheat in
the nation. For instance, in mid-January, soft white was
selling for between $6.40 and $6.80 a bushel in Portland
while club wheat was selling for more than $10 a bushel.
Japan is the main buyer of club wheat. The country receives it in a mixture with soft white wheat as a subclass
called Western White. Usually, 20 percent club is blended
into soft white, except when supplies get short. Then the
Japanese reduce the blend to 10 percent. The last time
WGC REPORTS
that happened was in 2010, but it
was only six months before they
returned to the 20 percent blend.
“It weakens the submarket
class of club wheat. The main
reason there is a club is its
unique quality,” he said, adding
that today, it’s only the Western
White subclass that keeps the
unique wheat being planted.
The path that club wheat
took to find its home in Eastern
Washington is different from
the one followed by other wheat
types. Varieties like the venerable Turkey Red or Gold Coin,
traveled westward with various waves of immigrants. Club
wheat, however, followed a
totally different route.
Over his 39-year career Allan developed
seven club varieties, but several are of
special note.
He brought clubs into the semidwarf
age with his 1970 release, Paha. In 1982, he
released Crew, the first multiline wheat
variety ever developed in the U.S. consisting of 10, closely related wheat lines which
provided durable resistance to stripe rust.
His 1986 release, Tres, had the distinction
of being the leading
club variety from 1985
to 1989. Rely, a 1993
release and another
multiline, was the
leading club variety
from 1996 to 2001.
Although Allan’s
list of achievements
fills pages and club
wheat serves as
its centerpiece, he
may be best loved
and remembered
by farmers for his
soft white wheat, Madsen. The
1988 release, which was still grown on
46,000 acres in Washington in 2014, was the
first soft white with strawbreaker foot rot
resistance, a trait Allan was able to introgress from a wild wheat relative. Madsen
and the several club wheat varieties Allan
developed with the trait saved farmers millions in chemical costs and added millions
to their bottom lines in yields.
the west coast of South America,
become the way station for club
wheat? And why, of all places in
the U.S. to establish itself, did it
stick in an area with an epicenter
of Almira, Wash.? The primary
reason is simple, Allan said.
Environment. Both Chile and
much of the Northwest enjoy a
Mediterranean climate.
Club wheat development has
been a focal part of breeding in
Pullman since Jasper Spillman
was crossing with clubs
in the late 1800s. The reason he did, Allan said,
was because many of the
European wheats coming
into the area weren’t as
well adapted as Little Club
out of Chile. Spillman’s
homerun was Hybrid 128,
a 1907 club variety release
that was cold hardy, shatter resistant and had good
standability. Its production
peaked in 1919 with more
than 100,000 acres planted.
Over time, club wheat
came to dominate production
in Eastern Washington. When
Allan arrived in Pullman in 1957,
the only club wheat Vogel ever
bred, Omar, a traditional-height
club, dominated the state. In
1959, the year that the stripe rust
epidemic devastated the crop, it
was planted on 83 percent of the
state’s acreage.
Allan’s research shows that
club wheat traveled from Spain
to Chile in about 1529. In the
1860s, the wheat came north into
California as the variety Little
Club, then migrated to Oregon.
Those wishing to buy Allan’s book can
Were it not for Vogel’s deAllan said the unique wheat
send a check for $35 to Robert Allan, 3202
velopment
of a soft white
made its way into the Columbia
Old Moscow Rd., Pullman, Wash., 99163.
semidwarf variety, club wheat
Basin in both Washington and
may have come back from the
Oregon around 1868, where it
devastating disease with newer,
became one of the first wheats
resistant varieties. As it hapgrown on the east side of the
pened, however, Vogel’s soft white semidwarf release,
Cascades. During a trip to Spain in the mid-1980s, Allan
Gaines, was a much better yielder, and it had some stripe
was able to confirm his belief in the Spanish connection,
rust resistance, which was increased with the release of
finding the occasional club head among the landrace
Nugaines.
varieties being grown in a field there.
But why did Chile, one of the world’s longest countries
sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes on
Its head may look odd, but
the flour club wheat grinds is
beautiful. Essentially, it is a softer
version of soft white. In years
when soft white protein is high,
the addition of club wheat can
actually mitigate the higher protein’s effects. Allan believes club’s
marketing advantages shouldn’t
be messed with. Breeding soft
white that’s more like a club or a
club that’s more like a soft white
is “giving away the farm.”
Career standouts
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Club wheat acreage in Washington declined by more
than 70 percent between 1959 and 1964. In 2014, just 7.5
WL
54 WGC REPORTS
percent of wheat acres in Washington were
planted to club.
Club wheat origins point to Hindu Kush
Growers in the drier areas of the state experimented with Gaines and Nugaines when
they were released, but found their semidwarf
habit delayed them getting out of the ground.
As a result, many farmers in the drier areas
stayed with club wheat varieties which turn
out to have other advantages besides quick
emergence in a dry climate. Their stomates
(plant pores) close more quickly under water
stress than soft whites, helping avoid stress,
and there are indications club tillers abort
faster than soft common tillers, an advantage
to the rest of the plant.
Allan said it appears an area between Afghanistan and
Pakistan was not only the origin of the club gene, but also the
gene for the soft kernel characteristic in wheat. There is archeological evidence of club wheat being grown in Syria 9,000 years
ago.
Looking back over his nearly 60-year career
at the center of club wheat, Allan smiles
thinking of what might have happened to the
freshly minted graduate student.
“If I hadn’t gotten a wheat breeding job in
Pullman, I don’t want to think about it,” he
said. “The only other offer I had was as a weed
scientist at Southern Illinois.”
Although club wheat linage can be traced to Chile and thence
to Spain, the actual origin of the compacted-head characteristic
goes back further in history to the remote mountains of the
Hindu Kush.
While immigrants to the U.S. moved westward with their
favorite types of wheat, broadening the crop’s genetic heritage
along the way, there is no indication that club wheat types were
introduced from anywhere but Chile. This circumstance, Allan
said, has contributed to club wheat’s narrow genetic base.
The characteristic for a club-type head relies on a single
gene. Knock out that gene, and you’ve got what appears to be
a conventional head, as a photo in Allan’s book, “Club Wheat,”
makes clear. The extra softness of club wheat and its ease of
milling made it a particular favorite of millers, and for a time,
the most widely grown class in Washington.
A field of club wheat in Creston, Wash.
WGC REPORTS
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World commodity
requires world traveler
By Randy Suess
When you’re dealing with a world commodity like wheat,
customer service involves travel—sometimes to the other
side of the world—which is where I found myself in early
December.
Although South Africa is about as far away from my
home outside of Colfax as you can get, the conference provided the perfect opportunity to “kill” many birds with one
stone. That’s why the Washington Grain Commission sent
me. Among the countries represented at the event, plenty
were purchasers of soft white wheat in the past, including
Egypt, Yemen, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Iran, a major soft
white buyer before their 1979 revolution, was also present.
I spent a lot of time talking to as many of these individuals as possible, thanking them for past business and pro-
viding them with Pacific Northwest Crop Quality
Reports, a pile of which I brought along in my
luggage. The report, for those who may not know,
explains the quality and performance measures from
our most recently completed harvest.
The conference was held in the Cape Town
International Convention Center, a huge facility that
could easily hold several conferences at the same
time. Alan Tracy, president of U.S. Wheat Associates
(USW), gave one of the opening talks, challenging the
IAOM attendees to adopt a new idea for the World
Cape Town, South Africa, was the location for the 25th
anniversary of the International Association of Operative
Millers, Mideast and Africa (IAOM MEA) district meeting.
IAOM, founded in the U.S. in 1896, is now an international
organization with meetings in different districts around the
world each year. Comprised of flour millers and allied trade
representatives, its purpose is to advance technology within
the milling and seed processing industries. More than 100
exhibitors set up shop, and the 700 people who registered
had to be housed in five different hotels.
U.S. Wheat Associates has a strong presence at the International Association of Operative Millers, Mideast and Africa district meeting as shown in this
portrait of the participants including their spouses.
WL
WGC REPORTS
Trade Organization. Called the
“Global Wheat Security Initiative,”
the idea is for all countries to agree
to no quotas, tariffs or state-trading
enterprises for wheat, as well as the
elimination of domestic subsidies.
The best-attended sessions were
where the major exporting countries gave their reports on crop
quality and current conditions
for the upcoming year. Presenters
represented the U.S., Australia,
Canada, France and the Black Sea
region. A new one I wasn’t familiar
with was the Baltic Sea area. A very
high protein wheat is produced
there because of the long length of
their days during summer.
Ian Flagg, the regional USW
director from Casablanca, provided
the U.S. report on all six classes of
wheat. Even though the U.S. has
a shorter crop than normal, he
stressed the high quality of our
classes. It was mentioned that soft
white had higher protein than
normal, but Flagg noted this would
be acceptable for Middle East and
Northern Africa uses.
market was affecting world economies and wheat purchases. He predicted
that crude would be selling for $40-$46 per barrel by 2016. For countries relying on oil to maintain their economies, this will be a devastating blow to their
purchasing power. Basse also predicted China would be forced to become a
major importer of wheat as the country shifts towards
corn and soybean production.
Mike
Krueger from
I visited with several Saudi guests who continue to
the Money
show an interest in soft white wheat. The country, which
Farm gave his
was once nearly self-sufficient in wheat, has been crankopinion that
ing down its production since 2008 because of the crop’s
the bull market
demand on the Kingdom’s aquifer. By 2016, it will be
was not dead.
totally dependent on world supply for its wheat needs.
Even with big
Although the WGC has mainly been pursuing soft
world wheat,
white
wheat’s blending attributes in the Latin American
corn and
market, it was gratifying to have the Saudis request
soybean crops,
a copy of our blending studies. USW Latin America
he predicted
Consultant Andrea Saturno, along with cereal chemist
prices would
Art Bettge, have been doing excellent work on blending,
Bo-Kaap is a brightly colored Cape Town, South
remain firm
Africa,
neighborhood
where
many
descendants
of
and it’s gaining interest around the world.
because of
slaves brought to the region by the Dutch in the 17th
emerging mar- century now live.
The Cape Town USW office was only five blocks from
kets, a demand
my hotel, so I went over and visited with Ed Wiese, the
for feed and the rising consumption
regional vice president representing sub-Saharan Africa. Cape Town has a
of wheat around the world.
rich history, dating back to the Dutch East India Company which established
Dan Basse, president and founder
of Ag Resource, USA, gave a
presentation on how the crude oil
56 The U.S. Wheat Associates’ office located in Cape Town, South Africa, oversees the entire subSaharan Africa region. At the office (from left) are Randy Suess; Ed Wiese, regional vice president,
and his wife, Pamela, who serves as administrative assistant; Domenique Opperman, regional
program and information systems coordinator; and Cathy Marais, financial accountant.
a settlement there in 1652. Until the British defeated them in 1806, the Dutch
ruled the area for 150 years, and their presence is still reflected in the Dutch
names used on roads and streets.
WGC REPORTS
WL
Very little U.S. wheat actually gets to the sub-Saharan region of Africa. It is still a poor area which purchases quite a
bit of flour. The exception is Nigeria, which is covered from
the Cape Town office, and Wiese was extremely concerned
about their purchasing power if the price of crude keeps
falling. Given how much U.S. wheat Nigeria has purchased
over the last few years, the loss of that market would hurt.
On a positive note, Wiese believes Namibia, to the north
of South Africa, will become an emerging market. Frankly,
I’m hopeful that all of Africa will move up the economic
ladder. Some of the statistics presented at the conference
shows that happening as an emerging middle class grows
throughout the region. Although the U.S. will probably get
very little of this business, additional wheat disappearance,
whatever the country, helps lower inventories and raise
prices.
(Above) You can always count on Randy Suess, a Washington State University alum, to carry the institution’s flag wherever he goes around the world.
Along with his wife, Laurie, he shows his colors at the Cape Town waterfront. In the background is Table Mountain. (Below) Penguins aren’t just an
Antarctic phenomenon; they get around. Here, a colony makes its home near Simon’s Town on a peninsula of land south of Cape Town, South Africa.
The wheat market has changed dramatically over the
last two decades, with many of our former customers now
receiving supplies from the Black Sea states. Nevertheless, I
was gratified by the continued interest of those I spoke with
in our high quality soft white. Not to mention, Yemen still
puts its money where its mouth is, receiving 353,000 metric
tons of soft white in the 2013/14 marketing year, ranking it
fifth on our list of important customers.
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WGC REPORTS
Stresses take toll on spring wheat trials
Drawing parallels between auto racing and wheat breeding
By Stephen Guy
58 Those of you who
have met me at field
days or other events
probably wouldn’t
suspect I have a
need for speed, an
ironic confession
given my professional specialty
which requires
careful, slow and
laborious analysis
of wheat varieties.
than its genetics.
Ultimately, it is the
management that
provides the means
for the genetics to
be expressed in the
crop’s performance.
Finally, the environment determines how fast I
can drive my car.
The surface conditions of the track
(rain, hot, cold)
affects the car’s
My passion for
performance, just
auto racing is about
as precipitation,
more than watchtemperature and
ing. For the last
Planting, surveying and harvesting Washington State University’s Variety Testing plots is slow
soil type parallels
seven years, I have
business, which helps explain why Extension Agronomist Stephen Guy likes a hobby that’s a bit
the environmental
faster—like racing a vintage Formula Ford. Photo illustration by Vadim Jitkov.
been competing in
factors for growing
a vintage Formula
wheat.
Building
a
high
performance,
genetically
superior
Ford car. Thinking recently about these two extremes in
wheat
cultivar
and
driving
it
with
superior
management
my life, I came to the realization that racing is more simifor the environmental conditions present is ultimately
lar to growing a spring wheat crop than it first appears.
what goes into making a winning wheat yield.
Consider the fact that my first decision about racing
If you followed the racing analogy above, you’ll see
was selecting a class of car. I decided on the vintage forthat
variety selection is a fundamental and vital manmula Ford, but I could have just as easily selected a club
agement
component for successful and profitable crop
Ford or modern formula Ford. I liken my selection of a
production
systems. Variety performance results showcar to a grower’s selection of the type of spring wheat
ing
performance
differences are readily available from
he’s going to grow: hard red, soft white or hard white
the
Washington
State
University (WSU) Variety Testing
spring wheat.
Program on the variety testing website at
My decision also shaped where I would race. I race
variety.wsu.edu/. They are also summarized in the
with the vintage racing club SOVREN. Likewise, the
Washington State Crop Improvement Association seed
class of wheat a grower chooses shapes where his crop
buying guides and are available on the Extension Small
will be grown.
Grains website at smallgrains.wsu.edu. There, you can
So what about the genetics of a race car versus wheat
also use the interactive variety selection tool to help pick
varieties? The “DNA” of my vintage Ford comes down to
out superior varieties based on the criteria of your choice.
how the manufacturer built the car—its structure, which
Spring wheat results from 2014 trials are presented in
is not unlike how breeders build plants by manipulating
Tables 1 and 2 as summaries across locations within four
DNA to create the genotype of a variety that becomes
rainfall zones. Management details, results from other
the phenotype, or plant structure. In both cases, how
years and multiyear summaries are available on the
components interact, complement and work together
websites listed above.
determines the performance potential.
A quick look at Tables 1 and 2 shows the proliferation
But no car ever won a race sitting in the pits, and a
of varieties available (only named varieties are included,
wheat crop does not grow itself. Thus, the operation
not numbered breeding lines). You may also notice that
(driving) and preparation (management) determines
some of the locations where spring wheat is tested were
the car’s performance. Similarly, the farmer’s managenot included in the tables due to environmental probment of a wheat variety is just as or more important
lems. Or, as farmers and race car drivers both call them,
WGC REPORTS
Table 1. 2014 WSU Extension Spring Wheat Variety Trial Summary
1
Yield (Bu/A) Lb/Bu %
WB9879CLP
726769
Glee-G2
746268
Glee (WA 8074)
75 59 67
Kelse
736066
SY605 CL
65 67 66
SY Steelhead
76 56 66
Glee-0W
745665
Hollis
705663
Jefferson
685863
WA 8166 (Alum)
70 55 62
Bullseye
645962
HRS 3361
62 60 61
LCS-Buck Pronto
64 58 61
SAS 4B
68 52 60
WB-Fuzion
635660
SAS W4
70 49 59
Scarlet
615458
HRS 3419
62 52 57
LCS-Atomo
956279
LCS-Star (08SB0658-B)846374
UI-Platinum (IDO694C)83 60 71
WB-Hartline
796170
Dayn (WA 8123)
76 64 70
BR7030
705965
Otis
675260
Patwin 515
58 58 58
Svevo
405045
Soft Svevo
35 51 43
Average
695964
LSD (0.10)
7 5 4
Club Wheat
57.7
57.0
56.6
55.7
58.6
57.8
57.1
55.3
56.1
54.6
56.9
54.9
56.1
49.8
56.0
49.1
54.4
51.5
54.1
52.1
55.8
54.0
56.1
56.0
54.2
53.1
58.3
56.6
55.4
1.0
14.4
13.6
13.7
15.3
15.5
15.6
13.8
16.0
14.5
14.7
15.8
15.1
15.5
15.6
14.6
15.0
14.9
16.9
13.4
14.6
13.7
15.3
13.2
13.7
14.6
15.6
15.3
16.3
14.7
0.8
SOFT White
Hard REd SPRING
11.3
11.2
11.0
11.0
13.0
11.5
11.3
12.2
12.0
11.4
11.5
11.0
12.7
11.5
11.7
11.4
0.6
Hard WHITE SPRING
SOFT White
DURUM
Hard WHITE SPRING
Hard REd SPRING
93 6880 57.4
84 7177 55.8
83 7277 57.1
826976 57.2
78 72 75 57.3
74 75 74 57.1
75 7072 57.1
76 6771 56.9
70 6869 58.8
71 6367 57.1
70 5964 55.4
71 5864 56.5
67 6264 54.8
69 5763 55.9
70 5161 55.7
76 6772 56.9
5 7 4 0.8
Diva
Louise
Nick
Louise-G2
Whit
WB6341
Louise-0W
Alpowa
JD1
Zak
WA 8162 (Seahawk)
Alturas
Babe
UI-Stone (IDO599)
WB-1035CL+
Average
LSD (0.10)
DAYTON
PLAZA
REARDAN
ST. JOHN
AVERAGE
AVERAGE TEST
WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
Variety
-----Yield (Bu/A)----- Lb/Bu
41 85377359 58.6
45 76306454 57.3
45 71336052 58.9
44 70316452 57.1
42 74365752 58.0
44 70335951 58.0
42 70306251 56.6
42 69316151 58.0
42 69286150 59.2
39 68276650 57.1
42 68 31 56 49 58.7
39 67325749 57.4
39 71325449 59.0
40 67 33 55 49 58.3
35 66334946 58.2
42 72325951 58.0
2 5442 0.5
SAS W4
46 78 28 59 53 50.6
Glee-0W
47 76295752 59.4
Glee-G2
42 76315852 59.4
SAS 4B
48 67 26 58 50 50.6
Glee (WA 8074)
40 76 29 54 50 59.6
Jefferson
41 70285849 59.3
SY Steelhead
45 67 28 51 48 59.4
Kelse
42 69255347 58.7
WA 8166 (Alum)
42 62 28 57 47 58.4
Scarlet
35 71255647 57.0
Bullseye
41 76274147 60.2
HRS 3419
42 66265146 55.8
Hollis
40 64295246 58.7
WB9879CLP
42 62265145 58.2
LCS-Buck Pronto
40 68 25 48 45 58.4
WB-Fuzion
42 64274745 58.7
HRS 3361
44 62 23 48 44 57.5
SY605 CL
34 63 30 40 42 59.9
WB-Hartline
44 78306354 57.8
LCS-Atomo
46 73335451 59.2
BR7030
42 74285951 59.2
LCS-Star (08SB0658-B)44 70285649 57.9
Dayn (WA 8123)
39 70 34 51 49 58.6
Otis
33 68256347 58.2
UI-Platinum (IDO694C)47 62 36 44 47 60.2
Patwin 515
37 58 25 45 41 56.6
Svevo
34 62132333 58.1
Soft Svevo
25 57 15 23 30 58.2
Average
41 68275247 58.0
LSD (0.10)
5 5352 0.6
%
12.3
12.3
12.9
12.8
12.7
11.8
12.8
12.6
13.0
13.6
12.7
12.3
12.5
12.2
14.0
12.6
0.2
%
14.8
14.5
14.4
15.0
14.5
14.8
15.7
15.7
15.2
15.0
15.1
15.1
15.4
15.7
15.9
15.4
15.6
16.2
14.9
13.7
14.2
14.4
14.3
14.1
13.9
15.0
15.7
15.6
15.0
0.3
wrecks. Pullman and
Mayview were lost to
hail, and Walla Walla and
Almira results were compromised by disease(s)
and lack of available water that produced atypical
results.
The general tough
spring growing conditions in 2014 also reduced
overall yields compared
to recent years. Such
stresses were manifest in
yield and low test weights
at many locations. Some
varieties were affected
more than others, thus
these results are especially valuable when considering future growing
conditions with limited
available water and other
environmental challenges, including diseases.
On the other hand,
problems like stripe rust
were almost nonexistent
during 2014, unlike some
recent years. Also, the
wireworm assessment,
based on the different
amounts of insecticide
treatment applied to
Louise and Glee seed
did not show consistent
results, unlike some
previous years. It is likely
that other performance
limitations masked the
wireworm effects.
Whit
WB6341
Nick
Babe
WA 8162 (Seahawk)
UI-Stone (IDO599)
Diva
WB-1035CL+
JD1
Alpowa
Louise
Alturas
Zak
Louise-G2
Louise-0W
Average
LSD (0.10)
DURUM
Variety
Precipitation Zone=16”-20”
FAIRFIELD
FARMINGTON
AVERAGE
AVERAGE TEST
WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
Precipitation Zone=>20”
WL
Because there were
28 hard spring wheat
varieties and 15 soft
wheat varieties tested in
2014, it is a daunting task
to pick the best variety
for each growing condition (especially when we
don’t know what 2015
has in store for growing conditions). Yield is
a primary consideration
when selecting varieties,
but grain test weight, proWHEAT LIFE FEBRUARY 2015 59
WGC REPORTS
Scientific assistants Vadim
Jitkov and Mary Lauver
helped with the preparation
of these articles.
1
39 4241 60.3
39 4039 60.3
36 4239 60.9
36 3636 59.9
33 3735 60.0
31 3734 59.9
34 3334 59.7
32 3333 59.7
30 3532 59.9
29 3432 59.9
28 3532 58.8
31 3232 60.0
293231 60.3
28 29 29 59.7
23 33 28 61.2
32 3533 60.0
4 4 3 0.4
13.2
13.7
13.6
12.4
13.2
12.5
12.8
13.7
13.6
14.7
14.6
13.9
14.0
13.8
13.0
13.4
0.4
SAS W4
40 31 36 53.3
SAS 4B
35 32 33 51.7
Glee-G2
2631 29 60.1
WA 8166 (Alum)
26 31 29 60.2
Hollis
2630 28 59.9
SY Steelhead
27 28 27 60.3
Glee (WA 8074)
27 27 27 59.9
Jefferson
2231 27 59.5
Glee-0W
2527 26 60.1
WB9879CLP
2526 26 58.1
Kelse
2127 24 59.4
HRS 3361
19 27 23 57.2
Scarlet
2026 23 57.9
HRS 3419
23 22 22 56.6
LCS-Buck Pronto
20 24 22 59.0
WB-Fuzion
2023 22 59.0
Bullseye
162520 61.1
SY605 CL
16 23 20 59.7
WB-Hartline
3334 34 58.6
Otis
2630 28 60.1
BR7030
2827 28 59.7
LCS-Atomo
3024 27 59.7
Dayn (WA 8123)
26 26 26 59.2
Patwin 515
20 26 23 57.5
LCS-Star (08SB0658-B)2124 23 59.6
UI-Platinum (IDO694C)24 22 23 60.6
Svevo
61410 57.2
Soft Svevo
7 10 8 57.1
Average
2426 25 58.7
LSD (0.10)
3 3 2 0.3
Club Wheat
14.7
15.3
15.7
15.9
15.6
16.3
15.9
16.3
15.7
16.7
17.0
16.3
16.2
16.2
16.8
16.6
16.5
17.1
16.3
14.8
15.6
14.9
15.7
16.5
15.1
14.9
16.2
15.9
16.0
0.5
SOFT White
Hard REd SPRING
Louise
Nick
Diva
WB6341
Louise-G2
Louise-0W
Alturas
Whit
Babe
WB-1035CL+
Zak
Alpowa
JD1
WA 8162 (Seahawk)
UI-Stone (IDO599)
Average
LSD (0.10)
Diva
WB6341
Nick
JD1
Louise-G2
Zak
Louise
Louise-0W
Alpowa
Whit
WA 8162 (Seahawk)
Alturas
UI-Stone (IDO599)
Babe
WB-1035CL+
Average
LSD (0.10)
LIND
AVERAGE
AVERAGE TEST
WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
HORSE HEAVEN
BICKLETON
CONNELL
Variety
Hard WHITE SPRING
SOFT White
ENDICOTT
LAMONT
AVERAGE
AVERAGE TEST
WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
Variety
Precipitation Zone=<12”
DURUM
Acknowledgements:
The WSU Extension
Uniform Cereal Variety
Testing program trials
are made possible by
the contribution of land
and time from farmer
cooperators where the
trials are located, and
cooperators at the WSU
research units at Pullman
and Lind. Partnerships
with research scientists
from both the public
and private sectors are
a key element to make
this program successful. Funding was provided by the Washington
Grain Commission,
WSU Extension, WSU
Agricultural Research
Center, WSU Department
of Crop and Soil
Sciences, Washington
State Crop Improvement
Association and private
companies.
Precipitation Zone=12”-16”
Hard REd SPRING
Information about
most of these characteristics is on the variety
testing websites and
can be used as criteria
in the variety selection
tool. Just as knowing
the parameters of my
vintage Ford racer helps
me pass the competition, so too knowing and
using objective variety
performance information
can help farmers take the
checkered flag in their
specific crop production
system.
Table 2. 2014 WSU Extension Spring Wheat Variety Trial Summary
Hard WHITE SPRING
tein and end-use quality,
along with plant disease
resistance, maturity,
lodging tendency, height
and emergence are also
important.
DURUM
WL
18 26223024 61.4
21 24222623 60.5
20 24222623 60.9
19 23222623 62.2
15 25212822 59.8
19 23242322 60.8
16 25192722 60.1
15 25222522 60.3
19 23222322 61.4
20 21212421 60.1
20 20 23 23 21 61.2
17 22192521 60.0
19 21 18 25 21 62.2
19 21192320 61.2
16 21192320 60.5
19 23212522 60.9
2 2221 0.5
SAS W4
17 25222622 54.5
SAS 4B
17 21 20 26 21 53.7
SY Steelhead
19 20222020 61.6
Kelse
18 20212120 61.6
Bullseye
18 18241920 62.8
WA 8166 (Alum)
15 19 22 23 20 61.8
Glee-0W
20 17222120 62.3
Glee-G2
16 18212320 62.0
WB9879CLP
17 20212020 60.5
Glee (WA 8074)
18 18 22 19 19 62.2
HRS 3419
18 20 20 19 19 59.2
Jefferson
17 19202019 61.5
SY605 CL
15 20202019 61.8
Hollis
15 19202019 61.2
HRS 3361
20 16211619 61.1
WB-Fuzion
17 18191918 61.3
Scarlet
16 18211818 60.2
LCS-Buck Pronto
15 17 19 18 17 61.1
LCS-Atomo
21 19242221 62.0
LCS-Star (08SB0658-B)20 19232020 60.9
BR7030
18 22222020 61.6
UI-Platinum (IDO694C)18 19 22 22 20 62.5
WB-Hartline
20 19231920 60.9
Otis
13 19222119 61.7
Dayn (WA 8123)
13 19 20 20 18 61.5
Patwin 515
18 16191818 60.2
Svevo
15 7 151413 61.4
Soft Svevo
13 8 14 14 12 61.0
Average
17 19212019 60.8
LSD (0.10)
2 2221 0.5
%
12.1
12.4
13.3
12.6
12.8
13.8
12.4
12.7
12.7
12.7
12.6
12.1
12.6
13.1
14.2
12.7
0.2
%
14.6
15.4
16.0
15.7
15.1
15.1
14.9
15.0
15.9
15.0
15.2
15.5
16.0
15.5
15.7
16.0
15.6
16.4
13.7
14.7
15.2
13.8
15.6
14.8
15.0
15.2
16.0
16.0
15.2
0.3
WGC REPORTS
WL
Champion, Lenetah finish on top in barley trials
should also be factored into rotation decisions.
By Stephen Guy
Barley helps a following wheat crop by leaving straw
that breaks down, progressively releasing nutrients,
providing a disease and insect pest break and allows
for different weed control options. Grown in diversified
rotations, good barley varieties can make a higher-profit
production system.
There are many new varieties of barley (Table 3) for
farmers to choose from, both from private companies
and Washington State University, providing excellent
options for growers in 2015.
Just as 2014 was a tough year for spring wheat, it was
also for growing barley. As a result, four locations were
not used in the summaries: Mayview due to hail, and
Almira, Reardan and Walla Walla due to disease(s) and
lack of available water that produced atypical results.
Some of the new varieties listed have only been tested
in 2014 with limited locations, and thus should be tried
at most on a limited basis. However, the current dominant acreage varieties, Champion and Lenetah, did come
through as top performers this year. More information is
available on barley variety performance on the websites
and in the variety selection tool.
Yield is the primary consideration when selecting
barley varieties, but disease resistance, maturity, lodging tendency, plant height, emergence, test weight, grain
plumpness, protein and end-use quality are also important. Information about some of those are in Table 3;
other characteristics are on the variety testing website at
variety.wsu.edu/ and the small grains website at smallgrains.wsu.edu/, including the variety selection tool.
Barley acreage was on an upward trend after 2010, but
slid back this year. I was hoping barley acreage would
continue to expand because the crop provides such a
good rotational benefit to following wheat crops, often
making it a more profitable cropping system overall.
When considering growing barley, the current year crop
value is important, of course, but long-term benefits
With informed variety selection, growers have the
potential to profit from growing barley while creating an
economic cropping system.
Table 3. 2014 WSU Extension Spring Barley Variety Trial Summary
1
Champion
4390512046704730 52.9
Lenetah
4050565039404540 51.4
LCS-Genie
4470447046404530 51.3
LCS-Odyssey
4130447046504420 50.0
RWA 1758
3980 4590 4440 4340 51.7
Bob
3440478046104280 52.2
Lyon (05WA-316.K)
3900 5130 3790 4270 50.9
LCS-Overture
3550507041204250 49.0
LCS-Vespa (LCS LN09-0920)3420457047004230 50.0
Muir (07WA-601.6)
3240 5100 4150 4160 50.8
CDC Copeland
3700 4690 4050 4150 49.9
Tradition2
3300516038204090 51.6
LCS-Lamari
3700419041304010 51.5
Baronesse
3380446041704000 50.4
Salute
3460430042003990 50.7
CDC Meredith
3810410038103910 49.0
Harrington
3660431035703850 49.3
AC Metcalfe
3620 3950 3800 3790 51.4
Meresse1
2820338033703190 53.6
Average
3620433040103990 51.3
LSD (.10)
460 510 390 260 0.9
Hulless
2
Six row
%
12.6
12.2
12.0
11.8
13.4
13.5
12.3
12.2
12.9
13.5
12.3
12.7
12.8
13.1
14.4
13.0
14.1
14.1
15.5
13.3
0.5
AVERAGE
TEST WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
AVERAGE
ST. JOHN
---------Yield (Bu/A)--------- Lb/Bu
LAMONT
AVERAGE
Variety
Variety
DAYTON
AVERAGE
TEST WEIGHT
AVERAGE
PROTEIN
PULLMAN
Precipitation Zone=<20”
FAIRFIELD
FARMINGTON
Precipitation Zone=>20”
---------Yield (Bu/A)--------- Lb/Bu
Champion
3750223048203600 53.0
LCS-Odyssey
3300275047603600 51.6
Lenetah
3620255045603580 52.1
Muir (07WA-601.6)
3380 2580 4630 3530 51.0
CDC Meredith
3250 2390 4830 3490 50.2
RWA 1758
3430 2640 4360 3480 51.6
CDC Copeland
3170 2040 4990 3400 49.9
Bob
3440235043303380 52.3
LCS-Genie
3260228046103380 51.6
Baronesse
3280227045103350 50.6
LCS-Overture
3380212044803330 51.0
LCS-Vespa (LCS LN09-0920)3600190044003300 51.0
Lyon (05WA-316.K)
2870 2250 4620 3250 51.5
LCS-Lamari
2900212042103080 52.3
Salute
3130181039502960 50.9
Harrington
2860189038002850 50.9
AC Metcalfe
2650 1820 3760 2740 51.8
Tradition2
2420169033202480 50.9
Meresse1
2740132032602440 53.7
Average
3110206042203130 51.8
LSD (.10)
300 290 340 180 0.5
%
12.4
12.5
12.3
12.9
12.4
12.8
12.9
13.1
12.4
13.1
12.6
12.8
13.3
12.8
13.9
13.4
14.2
13.7
15.4
13.5
0.4
WHEAT LIFE FEBRUARY 2015 WASHINGTON GRAIN COMMISSION
When selecting barley varieties or any variety, evaluate as much performance information as possible. When
comparing variety performance, the LSD statistic is useful to determine if values are significantly different. An
LSD of 0.10 provides 90 percent confidence that a difference between two values is valid and not due to chance.
61
WHEAT WATCH
Near-term challenges ahead
By T. Randall Fortenbery
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) released several wheat-related
reports on Jan. 12. Unfortunately, none
of them were particularly good news
for wheat markets through the rest of
the current marketing year.
While the news looks a little better for the 2015/16 crop,
the remainder of the 2014/15 marketing year will continue to provide pricing challenges.
USDA did raise their forecast of the national average market year price for 2014/15 wheat by 10 cents per
bushel. This was largely based on improved wheat prices
in early and mid-December. Even with the increase, however, prices are projected to remain well below those of
last year and will barely break the $6 per bushel level.
From the holidays through late January, wheat prices
steadily declined, so a slight correction downward would
not be surprising in the February report. However, the
national average price reported by USDA is weighted by
sales, so if there have been few farmer sales over the last
few weeks, a significant revision is not likely.
Despite both beginning stocks (the wheat we had on
hand on June 1, 2014) and 2014 production being significantly lower than last year, USDA estimated total wheat
Figure 1: U.S. Wheat Stocks on Dec. 1
1,200,000
1,000,000
1,000 bushels
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
On-farm storage
Off-farm storage
2013
2014
stocks on hand on Dec. 1 (the end of the second quarter
of the marketing year) actually exceeded stocks for the
same period last marketing year by about 3 percent.
Interestingly, commercial holdings were down relative
to a year ago, while farmer-held stocks were up about 19
percent (See Figure 1). Total stocks exceeded 1.5 billion
bushels, or almost 55 percent of the total 2014/15 supply.
Dec. 1 stocks in 2013 represented less than 49 percent of
the total marketing year supply for 2013/14.
Washington differs significantly from the U.S. relative
to wheat holdings. As of Dec. 1, 2014, Washington producers were estimated to have about 7.3 million bushels
of wheat stored on farm compared to 8.8 million on Dec.
1, 2013. That represents a reduction of about 17 percent.
Commercial storage of Washington wheat was also well
below last year at 81.9 million bushels—a reduction of
close to 19 percent. In aggregate, Washington wheat
storage is down almost 18.5 percent on a year-over-year
basis.
This suggests Washington farmers might have been
more aggressive in selling wheat over the first half of the
marketing year compared to other wheat farmers. This
appears consistent with earlier years. Figure 2 shows
the percentage of the wheat supply sold each month for
the last four crop years. It compares Washington sales
with national sales. Note that beginning in August,
Washington producers generally market a larger percentage of their wheat each month when compared to the
national marketing pace.
Washington entered the marketing year with 31.2
million of bushels of wheat in storage. Total Washington
wheat production in 2014 was 108.5 million bushels (a
reduction of more than 25 percent compared to 2013), resulting in a total supply for the 2014/15 marketing year of
139.7 million bushels. Based on the Dec. 1 stocks figure,
Washington producers and commercials sold 50.5 million bushels through the first two quarters of the marketing year, or 36 percent of total supply. However, farmers
only held 550,000 bushels of the 31.2 million brought
into the marketing year. Combining that with production (108.5 million bushels) and then comparing that to
current on-farm storage suggests that producers have
sold about 92 percent of the total 2014/15 supply that they
controlled. A similar calculation for the U.S. indicates
that wheat farmers across the country have only sold 78
WHEAT WATCH
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
0.00%
2010/2011
2011/2012
2012/2013
Washington Percent of Wheat Sold
2013/2014
National Percent of Wheat Sold
Figure 3: Weekly U.S. wheat exports
1,400,000
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
2012/13
2013/14
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sept
Aug
0
July
If exports do not pick up, and
actual exports match the current
29 percent reduction relative to last
year, the final export number will
be closer to 835 million bushels. If
nothing else changes, this would
add another 90 million bushels to
the final carryout number. Figure 3
shows weekly exports of U.S. wheat
this year compared to the previous
two years. We are clearly behind
relative to last year, but until early
January were close to the pace of
2012/13. That year, exports ended
up totaling just more than 1 billion
bushels. Notice, however, that the
export pace really accelerated after
January. One challenge in repeating the same pattern this year is the
value of the U.S. dollar. The dollar
index (the value of the U.S. dollar
25.00%
June
Export activity through early
January suggests the carryout
estimate may need to be increased
again. USDA left their export estimate for 2014/15 unchanged from
their December forecast at 925 million bushels. However, through Jan.
1 (which represents 60 percent of
the marketing year), exports were
running about 29 percent below
year-ago levels. USDA’s forecast
represents a reduction of only 21
percent relative to year-ago exports.
30.00%
Based on reduced demand expectations, the U.S. ending stocks projection for 2014/15 was increased to
687 million bushels in the January
World Agricultural Supply and
Demand Estimates (WASDE). The
December forecast was for a carryout of 654 million bushels. The current forecast represents an increase
of more than 16 percent relative to
last year’s carryout. Demand reductions came primarily from the feed
and residual-use category, with a
small reduction also reported for
wheat seed demand.
Figure 2: Percent of the wheat crop sold by month
metric tons
percent of the supply they held in
the 2104/15 marketing year.
WL
2014/15
indexed to six major currencies) is about 12.5 percent more expensive than it
was on Feb. 1, 2013. This will make it more difficult to experience the export
increase we saw in the spring of 2013.
Based on the USDA stocks report, it appears Washington farmers have
sold most of last year’s crop and any inventory they brought into the 2014/15
marketing year. For those who have not yet sold, be prepared for challenging
times over the next couple of months. Watch the weekly export numbers. If
they do not start to improve very soon recognize that additional returns to
storage may be limited through the balance of this crop year.
Randy Fortenbery holds the Thomas B. Mick Endowed Chair in Grain Economics at
Washington State University. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from
the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.
WL
FEATURE
Tracing a tool’s timeline
How did farmers go from manually cutting, gathering and threshing wheat to modern combines?
If you’ve ever watched a modern combine harvest a field of wheat, you’ll quickly recognize that it’s a miracle
of mechanization, saving farmers hundreds of hours of back breaking, rough and often dangerous work. But
how did we go from harvesting two acres a day by hand to harvesting more than 100 acres a day with a
machine that does everything?
Before the early 1800s, grain was cut using hand tools, usually a sickle or scythe. The grain was gathered, or reaped, and threshed by hand or trampled by horses to separate the grain and straw. The straw
was removed, usually with a pitchfork, and the grain was winnowed to separate it from the chaff and
dirt.
In the 1820s, hand- or horse-powered threshers were introduced. One of the most popular was a
hand-cranked model invented by New Englander Joseph Pope. Grain still had to be cut and gathered
by hand, run through the thresher and cleaned to remove the chaff and dirt. At the same time,
reaping was also being mechanized, with
horse-drawn reapers
able to clean 14
to 15 acres a day.
Companies such as
Case, McCormick, Holt and
From wikipedia.org
John Deere continued to innovate and
improve harvesting machinery, and
eventually, the header and thresher system came to
dominate the 1800s, especially in the west.
Photo courtesy of the private collection of Della Evans and
the Whitman County Rural Heritage project
In 1938, the Barr operation was farming the Nolan, Daggett, Harvey and Wood Gulch
farms. They used this bigger Rumley combine with 32 horses (four leaders and four
groups of seven). It took five men to run the machine (a skinner, a sewer, a jig, a tender
and a combine man). Photographer unknown. (WCLRW073, washingtonruralheritage.org)
Headers generally consisted of a wide cutter bar
and reel that cut the grain and knocked it back
onto the draper, a canvas belt that moved the cut
grain into a nearby wagon. Headers were originally
pushed through the field from the back by horses
in order to keep the crop from being trampled.
Early headers could cut approximately 30 acres a
day.
Once the grain had been cut and gathered, it was
moved to another machine, the thresher. At first,
threshers were powered by horses walking in a
circle; steam engines would eventually take over.
These threshers were able to quickly separate wheat kernels from the straw and chaff. The clean kernels would be gathered
and sown into burlap sacks.
By the late 1800s, implement companies were beginning to manufacture machines that combined the header and thresher functions, giving rising to the first
“combines.” Pulled by up to 40 horses or mules and needing a crew of about 6
men, combines could harvest 40 acres a day. In most cases, the horses pulled the
combine from in front of the thresher portion of the machine, with
the header attached to the side of the thresher. By the 1930s,
horses and mules had been mostly replaced by gas- and dieselpowered tractors. In turn, those pull-type combines would
evolve to become today’s modern, all-in-one combines.
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WL
FEATURE
Notable dates in combine history:
1826
Scottish inventor Patrick Bell invented
a reaping machine that was pushed by
horses.
1833
A U.S. patent was issued to Obed Hussey of
Ohio for a reaping machine similar to Bell’s.
1834 Cyrus McCormick is issued a patent for a
mechanical reaper that could cut 10 acres
a day. Along with his brothers, McCormick
would go on to develop the International
Harvester Company.
1836In Michigan, Hiram Moore patents the
first combine to reap, harvest and thresh
grain. His machine was 17 feet long, 15
feet wide and needed 20 horses to pull it.
While Moore’s machine would inspire later
inventors, it eventually proved too big and
cumbersome and was abandoned.
An 1851 illustration showing two horses pushing a Bell reaper.
Illustration by George Heriot Swanston. Photo from wikipedia.org
1869 J.I. Case and Company produces the first steam engine
tractor. The tractor is wheel mounted but still drawn by
horses and used only for belt power.
1876
Case builds the first self-propelled traction steam engine.
1886In California, George Stockton Berry builds the first selfpropelled combine. Powered with a steam engine that
used straw to heat the boiler, this self-propelled combine
could cut about 100 acres of grain a day.
1891
The Holt Manufacturing Company in California develops
a leveling device for combines.
1902 Hart-Parr Company puts the first production tractor on
the market. Hart-Parr was later absorbed by the Oliver
Company.
1904 Holt Manufacturing Company develops the first successful crawler tractor that’s powered by steam. A crawler
tractor powered by a gasoline engine comes two years
later.
1905Idaho National Harvester Company out of Moscow,
Idaho, begins manufacturing the “Idaho Harvester,”
A page from “The Operation, Care and Repair of Farm Machinery,” Tenth Edition,
a smaller, lighter combine specifically for the Palouse
published in 1936 by John Deere, Moline, Ill. Photo from deere.com.
region of Idaho and Washington. It could be operated by two
men with four to eight horses.
1911
The Holt Manufacturing Company in Stockton, Calif., develops the
first, entirely self-propelled, gasoline-powered combine grain harvester, the Caterpillar Harvester.
1925
Chicago’s International Harvester begins manufacturing tractorpulled combines.
1927
John Deere produces its first combine harvester, the John Deere No.
2, a tractor-pulled combine.
1938
Massey Harris develops the No. 20 self-propelled combine, followed
by the No. 21 just a few years later.
1946In Washington, Raymond Hanson patents an automatic leveling
system that uses mercury switches.
1947
66 John Deere introduces its first self-propelled combine, the model
55.
The MH-20 manufactured by Massey Harris in 1938.
Photo from masseyferguson.us.
Equipment
Bibliography
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widths, in addition to 12’, 15’,
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wikipedia.org
HistoryLink.org, Essay 10222 by
Christopher Wiley
Harvest Heritage. Agricultural
Origins and Heirloom Crops of
the Pacific Northwest by Richard
D. Scheuerman and Alexander
C. McGregor. Washington State
University Press 2013
Then and Now: 125 Years of Dryland
Wheat Farming in the Inland Pacific
Northwest by William F. Schillinger
and Robert I. Papendick. Published
May 2008
A Revolution Down on the Farm:
The Transformation of American
Agriculture Since 1929 by Paul
Conkin. University Press of Kentucky.
Published Sept. 2008
livinghistoryfarm.org
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THE
BOTTOM LINE
Uncovering hidden estate taxes in your estate
By Paul D. Fitzpatrick
Attorney, K&L Gates LLP
You have worked hard to build
your estate. You have a comfortable
home. Your farm land, equipment
and related buildings and storage bins are debt free. You enjoy
a vacation home. You have a taxdeferred retirement fund and some
life insurance. You have read that,
as of Jan. 1, 2015, the federal exclusion from estate tax is $5,430,000 per
person ($10,860,000 per couple). You
believe your estate is not likely to be
exposed to an estate tax.
Are you aware that Washington
state has a standalone estate tax
that is NOT governed by the federal
statutes? The Washington estate
tax exclusion is only $2,054,000 per
person ($4,108,000 per couple), with
a limited deduction for 1) property
used in farming (RCW 83.100.046)
and 2) qualified, family-owned
business interests, if owned by you
(RCW 83.100.050).
To determine if your estate has estate tax exposure, you have to know
your assets, their true value and
your liabilities. What is the value of
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WASHINGTON ESTATE TAX: The Applicable Exclusion Amount in 2015 is $2,054,000 per person.
An estate must exceed this amount to be taxable. For example, if the total estate value is
$2,554,000, the Washington taxable estate is $500,000 ($2,554,000 minus $2,054,000).
If Washington The amount
Of Washington
taxable estate of tax equals
taxable estate value
is at least
But less than initial tax amount Plus tax rate %
greater than
$0
$1,000,000
$0
10.00%
$0
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$100,000
14.00%
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$240,000
15.00%
$2,000,000
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$390,000
16.00%
$3,000,000
$4,000,000
$6,000,000
$550,000
18.00%
$4,000,000
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$910,000
19.00%
$6,000,000
$7,000,000
$9,000,000
$1,100,000
19.50%
$7,000,000
$9,000,000
$1,490,000
20.00%
$9,000,000
your tillable acreage? Your open space/pasture land? Your timbered acreage?
What are the accessibility and risks of your nonbusiness investments? What is
the face (not cash) value of your life insurance policies?
First you should look at your current estate, business and succession plan
and the documentation that will implement it. Who is to succeed you in your
business? How do you address nonbusiness family members? Do you have an
appropriate tax-minimization trust in place? Who have you designated to see
that your plan is carried out? What is your creditor and risk exposure? Does
your business have unique risks? Any one or more of these can wreak havoc on
even the most well-intended plan. You cannot anticipate that your family will
properly implement your plan. This may mean unnecessary estate tax exposure.
Next you need to develop a strategy. At a minimum, you need to review and
update your:
• Business succession plan;
• Financial and real estate durable powers of attorney;
• Health care durable powers of attorney with a health care directive; and
• Estate and gift tax documentation.
Another option to consider would be gifting a portion of your estate since
Washington does not have a gift tax. While gifts can be advantageous, you
must consider the implications of the carry-over basis of gifted assets. The
highest Washington estate tax rate is 20 percent but does not apply until your
Washington taxable estate exceeds $9 million. Federal capital gains taxes are 15
to 20 percent for most taxpayers, plus the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income
Tax (Medicare surtax). Depending on the structure of your business, discounting for lack of marketability and a minority interest for estate tax purposes may
not have the long-term benefit it once had.
The unused portion of the federal estate tax exemption may be transferred
to your spouse (often referred to as “portability”) without a tax-minimization
trust. This should be a last option. While new federal statutes allow a deceased
spouse to transfer any unused estate tax exemption to the surviving spouse, it
THE BOTTOM LINE
REQUIRES that an election be made! Should the election
be made? With a young couple it could be very advantageous, but maybe not with a much older couple. If the
return costs $1,500-$2,500 to prepare, is it worthwhile if it
preserves a federal estate tax exemption currently worth
$5,430,000?
Washington does not recognize portability of the first
spouse’s Washington estate tax exemption to the surviving spouse. To effectively utilize the Washington estate
exemption, it is best to have access to a tax-minimization
trust.
WL
The only people who pay estate tax are the ones who
choose not to use the current laws to preserve their family
legacy and assure that the next generation can keep moving forward without estate tax obligations.
Paul D. Fitzpatrick has more than 35 years of legal practice in
Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. He has worked with
families to preserve and transition assets and businesses to
successive generations. He is an accredited estate planner with
the National Association of Estate Planning Councils and can be
reached at (509) 624-2100 or at paul.fitzpatrick@klgates.com.
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Your
wheat
life...
(Right) Rhys Trappe, 3,
races a combine driven
by Lucas Engel at Wisota
Farms/Engel Farms in
Oakesdale.
Photo by David Trappe
(Below) Harvesting
barley in August on R&K
Farms east of Edwall.
Photo by Kurtis Klein
(Left) The sun sets on the Kile/
Dickerson harvest near St. John.
Photo by Gracie Dickerson
(Below) Kellan Lassman, 2, is excited
to be in the field with his grandpa,
Tom Zwainz, in Reardan.
Photo by Tom Zwainz
Retirement calls these two lifelong
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An August storm moves in over the Reardan area.
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HAPPENINGS
All dates and times are subject to change.
Please verify event before heading out.
February 2015
3-5 Spokane Ag Expo. More than
250 agriculture suppliers and service
companies all under one roof. Held at the
Spokane Convention Center. agshow.org
10 WAWG Board Meeting. Meeting
starts at 10 a.m. at Washington Wheat
Foundation Building, Ritzville, Wash.
(509) 659-0610, wawg.org
10 Beginning and advanced
QuickBooks. Morning session will
cover beginning QuickBooks, while
afternoon session will cover advanced
QuickBooks. Red Lion in Pasco, Wash.
Preregister by phone at (877) 740-2666 or
email lcammo@live.com. More information
at lcammo.org
11 Beginning and advanced
18-19 Washington Grain
Commission Research Review.
Event begins at 2:30 p.m. on day one, and
8 a.m. on day two, at the Residence Inn,
NE North Fairway Road in Pullman,
Wash. For more information and to RSVP,
contact Mary Palmer Sullivan at (509)
456-2481 or mary@wagrains.com
19 Marketing in the Top Third.
AMMO workshop featuring Mark Gold,
managing partner with Top Third Ag
Marketing in Chicago. Northern Quest
Resort and Casino in Airway Heights,
Wash. Preregister by phone at (877)
740-2666 or email lcammo@live.com. More
information at lcammo.org
21 Women in Agriculture
Conference. Making sense of mar-
keting, presented by Washington State
University Extension. Registration information is available at womeninag.wsu.edu
QuickBooks. Morning session will
24 Crop Insurance, Price Risk and
18 Marketing in the Top Third.
featuring Dr. Art Barnaby, a Kansas
State University professor of ag economics. Davenport Community Center in
Davenport, Wash. Preregister by phone at
(877) 740-2666 or email lcammo@live.com.
More information at lcammo.org
cover beginning QuickBooks, while
afternoon session will cover advanced
QuickBooks. Big Bend Community
College in Moses Lake, Wash. Preregister
by phone at (877) 740-2666 or email
lcammo@live.com. More info at lcammo.org
AMMO workshop featuring Mark Gold,
managing partner with Top Third Ag
Marketing in Chicago. Red Lion in Pasco,
Wash. Preregister by phone at (877)
Commodity Programs Under the
New Farm Bill. AMMO workshop
25 Crop Insurance, Price Risk and
Commodity Programs Under the
New Farm Bill. AMMO workshop
featuring Dr. Art Barnaby, a Kansas State
University professor of ag economics.
Big Bend Community College in Moses
Lake, Wash. Preregister by phone at (877)
March 2015
1 Sausage Feed. All you can eat from
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Menu includes homemade sausage, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green beans, roll, applesauce, pie
and beverage. Beer garden. Uniontown
Community Center, Uniontown, Wash.
uniontown.us/activities_events.html
6-8 Spring Arts and Crafts Show.
Features 300 artists and crafters from
across the U.S. Spokane Fair and Expo
Center, Spokane, Wash. custershows.com
10 WAWG Board Meeting. Meeting
starts at 10 a.m. at Washington Wheat
Foundation Building, Ritzville, Wash.
(509) 659-0610, wawg.org
18-19 Washington Grain
Commission Meeting. Spokane, Wash.
(509) 456-2481
23-24 Wheat College 2015.
Presented by Neal Kinsey, owner of
Kinsey Agricultural Services. Program
runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days at
the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla
Walla, Wash. Admission is free, and
lunch is included. Please RSVP by March
10 to the Washington Association of
Wheat Growers at (509) 659-0610.
28-29 Plowing Bee. Olmstead Place
State Park between Ellensburg and
Kittitas. parks.wa.gov/556/Olmstead-Place
“A story of
agriculture will
be told. It would
be better if it
were told by
you.”
— Jerry McReynolds,
past president of the National
Association of Wheat Growers
www.edwardjones.com
WHEAT GROWERS:
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But the fact is most everyone can benefit from some sort of
estate strategy to help ensure the things most important to
them–Family, Financial Assets, Property and Charities–are
taken care of according to their wishes.
CLASS 8 TRUCKS
We believe the key components of a successful estate
strategy include:
521 N. EASTERN • SPOKANE, WA
(509) 534-9088 • class8trucks@aol.com
PLAN FOR THE EXPECTED
PREPARE FOR THE UNEXPECTED
POSITION YOUR PORTFOLIO FOR BOTH
It’s important that we work with your professional team,
including your estate planning attorney and tax professional
to help you through this process.
Edward Jones, it’s employees and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot provide
tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate planning attorney or qualified tax advisor
regarding your situation.
To learn more about why Edward Jones
makes sense for you, call or visit today.
Powers Ranches Inc. is in beautiful
Klickitat County near Bickleton.
Terry A. Sliger
Financial Advisor
1329 Aaron Drive
Richland, WA 99352
509-943-2920
888-943-2920
Ryan Brault CFP ®
Financial Advisor
3616 W. Court St. Ste. I
Pasco, WA 99301
509-545-8121
888-545-8126
Brian E. Bailey AAMS ®
Financial Advisor
303 Bridge Street Ste 3
Clarkston, WA 99403
509-758-8731
866-758-9595
Chris Grover AAMS ®
Financial Advisor
1835 First Street
Cheney, WA 99004
509-235-4920
866-235-4920
Joy Behen
Financial Advisor
6115 Burden Blvd., Ste. A
Pasco, WA 99301
509-542-1626
877-542-1626
They came and picked up their truck
on a very cold day, about 10 degrees,
but their hearts were warmed by a hot
deal on their dream truck! Thank you,
Powers Ranches Inc.
.
Larry Kopczynski
Financial Advisor
2501 17th Street
Lewiston, ID 83501
208-798-4732
866-798-4732
IRT-1848A-A
Greg Bloom
Financial Advisor
Hank Worden
Financial Advisor
Professional Mall I I
109 S. Second Ave
1260 SE Bishop Blvd. Ste. C Walla Walla, WA 99362
Pullman, WA 99163
509-529-9900
509-332-1564
800-964-3558
Shown here are Lance and his dad,
Mitch. Along with Bob and Nathan,
they enjoy raising alfalfa, wheat and
cattle and watching the Blue Bird
migration through the Horse Heaven
Hills country!
Jay Mlazgar AAMS ®
Financial Advisor
609 S. Washington
Ste. 203
Moscow, ID 83843
208-882-1234
Member SIPC
Marc B. Lange (509) 991-9088
Scott Lund (509) 995-5024
Butch Johnson (509) 990-3153
NOT JUST TRUCKS,
TRAILERS TOO!
www.class8trucksales.com
Advertiser Index
Ag Enterprise Supply Inc . . . . . . . . . 44
AgriPro Seed-Syngenta. . . . . . . . . . . 31
AGPRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Ag Trucks & Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . 43
AgVentures NW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
ATI Solutions LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Barber Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Battery Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Black Rock Agriprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Blue Mountain Realtors. . . . . . . . . . . 69
Butch Booker Auction. . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Byrnes Oil Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Central Wash. Grain Growers. . . . . 34
CHS Connell Grain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Class 8 Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
CO Energy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Columbia River Carbonates. . . . . . . 42
Cooperative Ag Producers Inc . . . . 25
Country Financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Custom Seed Conditioning. . . . . . . 29
Diesel & Machine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Dow AgroSciences-PowerFlex. . . . 13
Edward Jones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Evergreen Implement Inc. . . . . . . . . 36
Farm & Home Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Great Plains Equipment Group. . . . 67
Heartland Capital Funding Inc. . . . 44
Helena Chemical-Stand . . . . . . . . . . 29
HUB International. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
J & M Fabrication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Jones Truck & Implement Inc. . . . . 37
Kincaid Real Estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Landmark Native Seed . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Les Schwab Tire Centers. . . . . . . . . . 15
Limagrain Cereal Seeds. . . . . . . . . . . 76
Micro-Ag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Northern Quest Resort & Casino. . 19
NW Farm Credit Services . . . . . . . . . 35
NW Farmland Management . . . . . . 31
ORO-Agri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
PNW Farmers Cooperative. . . . . . . . 27
Perkins & Zlatich PS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Pioneer West Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Pomeroy Grain Growers Inc. . . . . . . 74
ProGene LLC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
RH Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Rain & Hail Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Rainier Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Rock Steel Structures. . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Royal Organics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Scales NW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Seedmaster Drills-Kevin Klein. . . . . 41
Spectrum Crop Development . . . . 34
Spray Center Electronics. . . . . . . . . . 39
SS Equipment Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
State National Bank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
T & S Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Tri-State Seed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Walter Implement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
WestBred-Monsanto . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Wilbur-Ellis-Puric Max. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Wilson Creek Union Warehouse. . . 73
Windermere
Coeur d’Alene Realty Inc. . . . . . . 21
Wolf Trax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Yara North America-Amidas. . . . . . 17
POMEROY GRAIN GROWERS
Serving farmers for over 80 years
Pomeroy Grain Growers, Inc.
Pomeroy Grain Office 877-291-4660
Pomeroy Agronomy 509-843-1394
Farm Commodities-Colfax 800-424-5056
YIELD POTENTIAL
TEST WEIGHT • PROTEIN
MILLING/BAKING QUALITY
STANDABILITY • YELLOW (STRIPE)
RUST • MATURITY • PLANT HEIGHT
TAN SPOT • LEAF RUST • BARLEY YELLOW DWARF
WHEAT STEM SAWFLY
SAWFL • STRAWBREAKER FOOT ROT • WINTER HARDINESS
SEPTORIA LEAF BLOTCH • FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT (SCAB) • CEPHLASPORIUM STRIPE
We breed for that.
No matter the region, the pest or the situation,
WestBred wheat, with access to Monsanto breeding
®
technology, has a seed bred to help maximize
your acres.
WestBred.com • (800) 705-2309
Seeds. Solutions. Success.
Monsanto and Vine Design , WestBred and Design and WestBred are registered
trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. ©2014 Monsanto Company. MWEST-14058
®
®
®
Upgrade Your Cereal Portfolio
UI Stone
LCS Vespa
LCS Genie
Solid as a Rock!
Class Leading
Yield Potential
The Genie is
in the Bottle
SOFT WHITE SPRING WHEAT
2-ROW FEED BARLEY
2-ROW MALTING BARLEY
LCS Star
LCS Atomo
Buck Pronto
The Brightest Wheat
in the Firmament
Wheat Superhero
Yield, Protein,
Profit... PRONTO!
HARD WHITE SPRING WHEAT
HARD WHITE SPRING WHEAT
HARD RED SPRING WHEAT
Maximize your returns with
LCS varieties. Contact:
E frank.curtis@limagrain.com
P (970) 498-2201
Limagrain Cereal Seeds
W
E
P
LimagrainCerealSeeds.com
LCS-info@Limagrain.com
(970) 498-2200

February - Wheat Life

Transcription

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