Region's wheat growers meeting in Spokane
Washington Ag Today November 14, 2011 Wheat grower organizations from Washington, Oregon and Idaho are meeting in Spokane this week. The Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Oregon Wheat Growers League and the Idaho Grain Producers Association hold a Tri-State Convention at the Davenport Hotel Wednesday through Friday. There will be numerous workshops for growers to attend as well as guest speakers including Dr. Art Douglas, known as the “Weatherman” from Creighton University, giving a weather outlook for the 2012 growing season. Wheat growers are certainly interested in what is in the next farm bill. So are specialty crop producers, but they have a somewhat different focus. John Keeling, Co-Chairman of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance and CEO of the National Potato Council, describes the goals of the alliance. Keeling: “I think it is important to look at what the Specialty Crop Alliance has brought to the table in terms of the direction of farm programs. We believe we are setting a tone for farm programs of the future that is much more consistent with budgetary constraints and consistent with the needs of specialty crop agriculture than maybe the programs of the past. So it is important to note that specialty crop producers are looking for programs that help them build a successful infrastructure. That help them be more competitive not that provide direct payments to farmers or direct support for specialty crop agriculture.” They want things like block grants, research and pest protection. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
