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 […]
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, […]
Wheat Industry News

News and Information from Around the Wheat Industry Speaking of Wheat “The big news in wheat was the hard red winter number — shock-and-awe for USDA to increase it that much. The average trade guess was 532 million bushels, so the number was way above what anybody anticipated. We had a broad-based increase in yields, […]
Wheat Industry News

News and Information from Around the Wheat Industry Speaking of Wheat “The international [grain] price in Ukraine will be on the level of the cost of production. Harvested grains and oilseeds will be level of 62 million (tonnes), exports about 40 million. We have only three seaports operating at capacity and [under the ‘fragile agreement’ […]
Wheat Industry News

News and Information from Around the Wheat Industry Speaking of Wheat “Without a trade agenda that also advances U.S. economic interests by addressing barriers to U.S. exports through free trade agreements, the United States will lose influence globally. Other countries welcome U.S. products and benefit from the two-way relationship that free trade agreements promote. The […]
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 […]
Legislation Supports Barge Transportation and Lower Snake River Dams

A coalition of U.S. farm and food industry groups recently expressed support for a bipartisan Congressional agreement that, in part, maintains navigational access to the Lower Snake River Dams. The Agricultural Transportation Working Group noted that the Water Resources Development Act* (WRDA) of 2022 helps protect U.S. agriculture’s dependence on comprehensive transportation system including inland […]