Sprout Damage & Washington Grown TV

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Nearly 30% of Washington wheat samples tested this year by the state Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection Service have shown evidence of sprout damage. More sprout damage occurred this year due to increased rainfall just prior to and during harvest. When sprout damage occurs there is an increase of the enzyme alpha-amylase. The falling number test is used to measure the presence of this enzyme. The industry standard for soft white wheat is 300. Numbers below 300 indicate that harmful sprouting has occurred and suggest reduced quality, resulting in a lower selling price for the farmer. The falling number test has been highly criticized within the industry as inconsistent, and is expected to be a topic of discussion at the joint board meeting of the National Association of Wheat Growers and the U.S. Wheat Associates this November.

The Washington Grown campaign, which is a joint effort by various farm groups throughout the state that looks to tell the true story of agriculture, was officially launched late last spring, and Ryan Holterhoff with the Washington State Potato Commission says it's an exciting time right now for Washington Grown.

HOLTERHOFF: We're to the point now of where one of the hallmark pieces of the campaign - the TV show that we've been working on, is ready to launch October 6th on Northwest Cable News.

Holterhoff explains how the campaign came to produce a TV show.

HOLTERHOFF: As we got together we realized that we wanted to tell that story and use various video elements for that. As we started kicking around the ideas of what it could look like and what it could turn into we thought, you know what, we might be able to actually make a TV show out of this.

Tomorrow Holterhoff will talk about the Washington farmers and the food they grow that will be featured on the Washington Grown television program.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.