Washington Association of Wheat Growers Very Happy With 2018 Farm Bill

Most, if not all, commodity groups were happy when President Trump signed the 201 Farm Bill into law just before Christmas.  But, perhaps one of the happiest, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers.

WAWG Executive Director Michelle Hennings said not only does the Farm Bill provide certainty when growers are facing so many questions in trade, competition, tariffs and more, but it has many improvements.  She said one of the most notable changes involves ARC and PLC, programs in the past producers had to select for the entire five year duration of the Farm Bill.

“Well now they have the opportunity to change programs from year to year, which is actually amazing because when we first started talking about this with Congress, it was almost like a complete no because of what it could potentially do to the budget.  But Congress worked hard on coming together both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate to come up with a plan.”

Hennings said during the entire negotiation process this past year, she felt the concerns of WAWG and NAWG were heard and respected.

“This is what wheat growers need, and I felt we were at the table a lot stronger then we have been in the past for what wheat growers need in the Farm Bill.”

From here, Hennings said the focus becomes addressing the details of the Farm Bill as well as changes to conservation efforts.

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