Wheat All About It

7.18.17 Episode 30, In “Rail’s Future, Rail’s Past”, Scott Yates, director of communications and producer relations uses two segments to tell a story of railroads in the Inland Northwest. First, he talks with Keith Bailey, CEO of AgVentures, which manages both Reardan Grain Growers and Odessa Union Warehouse, about the benefits (and difficulties) of depending upon the 110 mile long CW short rail line that connects five country elevators with the new Highline Grain shuttle loading facility outside Cheney. Next up is a tour of the new Inland Northwest Rail Museum located just outside Reardan, with the president of the organization, Dale Swant.

7.4.17 Episode 28, In "Demolishing Combines, Building Community”, Scott Yates, director of communications and producer relations for the Washington Grain Commission, makes a visit to the heart of dryland wheat country where the Lions Club of Lind, Washington hosted the 30th annual combine demolition derby June 9th and 10th. The fund raiser returns thousands of dollars to the community each year as it adds to the global happiness index.

Following the loss of the chemical Lindane in 2006, wireworms quickly became a destructive pest of Eastern Washington wheat farmers. Fast forward to 2017 and the larval form of the click beetle appears to be coming under control. What happened? Thanks to Washington Grain Commission funding, research to investigate wireworms was launched and much more is now known about their control. Join the conversation Scott Yates, director of communications and producer relations at the Washington Grain Commission enjoyed with Aaron Esser, WSU Extension regional agronomist for wheat production, as he explains the status of research and control of the pesky wireworm.

In “Through Wheat Colored Glasses”, Scott Yates, director of communications and producer relations for the Washington Grain Commission, illustrates how the Wheat All About It! podcast has increased visits to the WGC website and connected with a new cadre of smartphone listeners. Yates also reveals some secrets about the podcast, while using the opportunity to hammer home the importance of wheat in the world. And don’t miss the excerpt from the book, Sapiens, which proposes that it wasn’t early humans who manipulated wheat, but rather, wheat that manipulated early humans!

In the first segment of “The Commission’s Business”, commissioners of the Washington Grain Commission discuss their observations of the current winter wheat crop and its potential for delivering a well above average harvest against the backdrop of poor prices. The second segment addresses the creation of the WGC’s 2017/2018 budget including how the WGC is tackling the falling numbers issue and the use of reserve funds to cover budget shortfalls.