Economics

Nearly all wheat farms in Eastern Washington are owned and operated by families, generating revenue that helps drive the economy of small towns.

More than 11,000 jobs are tied to wheat and barley farming in Washington. These jobs can be found at country elevators where farmers store and sell their wheat, companies that provide farmers the inputs necessary to grow their crops, seed companies and universities where small grains breeding occurs and at export locations where wheat is loaded for shipment overseas. Other jobs are tied to farmer spending at local businesses.
Grain Elevator
Wheat spikelet on one hundred dollars

The Washington wheat industry annually contributes from $650 million to nearly $1 billion in production value to the state’s economy.

Adding indirect output has raised the total economic value of the wheat industry to nearly $2.3 billion in some years. With nearly 90 percent of the state’s wheat crop exported to overseas locations, wheat farmers are responsible for creating a trade surplus.
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