Mike Miller New Chair of U.S. Wheat Associates

Mike Miller, a Ritzville wheat farmer, will become the new chair of U.S. Wheat Associates in July.

Miller said he got involved in leadership at the behest of his wife and many others when he seemed in a rut, and has really enjoyed working with the industry mostly because he thinks of farming like manufacturing and he really wanted to see the end product.

“And the curiosity of that really peaked my interest and I was offered to go overseas and work on an issue and that’s primarily where it started. A little light went on that we manufacture food, that’s the bottom line.”

Miller has served on the Washington Grain Commission and been the Washington representative for U.S. Wheat Associates.

For any farmers who might be interested in getting involved in leadership, Miller is very encouraging suggesting starting at a local level.

“Then you have the decision whether you want to expose yourself to more and be humbled by how much you don’t know about your industry or if you want to sit aside and go snowmobiling during the winter.”

The focus for Miller’s tenure will be trade with Southeast Asia, something that could be more challenging with the death of the TPP.

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