RMA Denies Request of PNW Wheat Growers to Waive Procedures

The Pacific Northwests Grain growers associations and 33 other PNW ag organizations as well as 12 congressional members wrote the RMA requesting them to forgo current agency procedures used to calculate wheat growers' actual production history or APH due to ongoing low falling numbers test results.

APH measures a grower's average yield over a multi-year period meaning that discounts applied due to low falling numbers could have severe long-term impacts on wheat growers. Central Washington 's Congressman Dan Newhouse shares why he signed on to the letter and asked the RMA to look at

Newhouse: "The real production of wheat farmers to make sure that program remains solid and having a safety net for our agricultural industry is important and looking for ways to continue to make it strong as it can be is important for the overall health of the industry as well as our communities.

Washington Association of Wheat Growers Executive Director Michelle Hennings told me that unfortunately the RMA has communicated that they will not consider the request to waive the APH reporting for Falling Numbers, if no crop insurance is filed. Even with the widespread support from many different ag organizations as well as the bipartisan letter, the RMA is unwilling to grant the request or provide an alternate solution.