Washington Grain Commission CEO Testifies on Behalf of Columbia Snake River System
On Jan. 30, 2024, Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission, offered compelling testimony supporting the crucial infrastructure of dams and locks on the Columbia Snake River System (CSRS) at a U.S. House Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee hearing. U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) sent separate […]
Update for Wheat Buyers on Extended Columbia Snake River System Closure in Early 2024
An extended closure of the Columbia Snake River System (CSRS) is scheduled from January 14 to March 29, 2024, to replace major components at the John Day and McNary dams (see above) on the Columbia River, and at the Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite dams on the Snake River. Similar extended closures occurred […]
Exports Depend on Snake River Dams
The following article about the importance of the Lower Snake River lock and dam system was written by Michelle Hennings, Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers, on behalf of Northwest RiverPartners, and appeared in The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash., on Aug. 30, 2023. Excerpts are reprinted here with permission. In the hottest year ever recorded, […]
Reliable Logistics: Barges Move U.S. Wheat Efficiently
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, approximately 31% of U.S. exported wheat is moved by barge to export points in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Barging is an extremely safe, efficient, and competitive mode of transporting grain for export, contributing to our robust grain marketing system. As key gateways for […]
Stories of Stewardship: Preserving Productive Soil in Washington State
Whitman County in eastern Washington State is the most productive wheat-producing county in the United States. There, near the town of St. John in “The Palouse,” the Bailey family has grown winter and spring soft white and club wheat and barley for three generations. Gary Bailey (above with a team of wheat buyers from Myanmar […]
Proposed Legislation Would Protect Snake River Dams and Export Efficiency
In March, U.S. Representatives Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) introduced the Northwest Energy Security Act to protect four lower Snake River Dams. Senators Jim Risch (ID) and Steve Daines (MT) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. While the legislation focuses mainly on the benefits of hydroelectric power, protecting the lock and […]
Rolling on the River: Wheat Export and Marketing Workshop Launches in Portland
For six or seven seconds Monday afternoon, a group of wheat farmers from Idaho were able to imagine pushing 15,000 metric tons of wheat up the river. Maybe the wheat had been harvested in Idaho, or maybe it came from Washington or Oregon or Montana or even the Dakotas. Regardless, the imaginary barges under their […]
Korean Journalists Visit a U.S. Wheat Industry Open for Business
It was an unusually calm morning at Blown Away Ranch outside Ione, Oregon. Dozens of wind turbines surrounding Deacon and Erin Heideman’s farm operation were still as we pulled up to their tidy, welcoming homestead. A mastiff dog named Duke greeted us first. He was as big as a calf, but quickly let us know […]
Wheat Leaders: Protect Lower Snake River Dams
Washington Senator Patti Murray and Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently announced their recommendations concerning a final Lower Snake River Dams (LSRD) Benefit Replacement Report. Basically, they state their belief that while breaching the dams would help salmon populations, breaching should not occur until economic impacts, including substantial negative effects on the U.S. wheat export system, […]
USW Expresses Support for Maintaining Lower Snake River Dams
On behalf of the U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) Transportation Working Group, we* appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the draft Lower Snake River Dams Benefit Replacement Report. The draft report raises serious concerns among U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) and its member states. The USW Transportation Working Group (TWG) questions many of the baseline assumptions […]