Wheat prices are higher year-over-year, but despite that increase these are trying times for growers.

“We have a price volatility factor going on right now because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and on top of that, we have inputs that are going through the roof, such as our fertilizer and fuel which has nearly doubled or tripped," said Michelle Hennings is Executive Director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. "But yet, our price volatility, yeah, it’s going up, but it’s not going up to cover those costs, and then it falls back down.”

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Hennings added on the international scene, U.S. wheat is starting to become expensive, which is encouraging some customers to look elsewhere for their needs. And in case that wasn’t enough, growers across the Evergreen state are dealing with soil moisture issues.

Outside of the crop itself, Hennings noted there is a lot of work for the wheat industry to do when it comes to the 2023 Washington legislative session. And she noted between now and January, there are three things they plan to do: educate, educate, educate.

“We also have the potential to have a lot of new legislators in the next session, so we need to make sure that we’re on top of that and educate them on the issues that we have.  The top issues [in 2022] were Salmon recovery funding, the labor bill that happened, we’re looking for a seasonality with that.  That didn’t even get heard in the Committee, so we want to work on that for farmers.”




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