washington business you’ ve eaten french fries anywhere around the globe, they’ re likely to have been made from potatoes grown in the Columbia Basin. I’ d like to see more trade missions, such as those sponsored by AWB, the state of Washington, and grower associations and commissions. It is important and will help us heal wounds and strengthen relationships and to introduce others to the bountiful top-quality crops we grow. families despite long odds. More than 180 farm families followed our urging, shared their challenges, and signed a letter to twelve PNW legislators. A legislative aide when we got to D. C. offered little hope:“ Your chances are between slim and none and slim just left town.” A Washington legislator congratulated us for helping do what seemed
How did the 2018 tariffs impact Washington agriculture?
Emergency help for farmers, badly hurt in the process, helped. But there were long term consequences— China switched their calls for soybeans, corn, and other crops to Brazil, which became a major competitor. Fragile lands of Brazil’ s Cerrado( the term means‘ closed’) were developed. The United States began slipping in its share of the world market. Stable, free and fair trade provides much more solid ground.
There are lots of imbalances and room for improvement in trade relationships. But we’ d be wise to remember that nothing is“ free”— that trade relations take big investments of time and resources, diplomacy and hard work and it is with peril that we put them at risk.
Put on your history professor hat. How does that inform your views of the current economic and political situation?
A sense of our history here in the PNW offers a reminder that whatever we do, we must go all out with the long-term in mind. Pessimism is a self-fulfilling recipe for failure. In Whitman County alone there are more than 150 family farms that date back a century or more. The same holds true for counties across our prairies and lowlands. Working together, we persevere and succeed.“ This, too, shall pass,” as my father used to say through many a challenge. Our voices, singularly and through crop associations and organizations, of which AWB is a fine example, do matter and often win the day.
I remember tough times in 2008 when we sought emergency help for farm
Alex McGregor and other business leaders attend a reception on April 11 at the state Capitol in Olympia to honor the critical economic ties between Washington state and Canada.
alex mcgregor at a glance
Alex McGregor’ s family has been farming in Eastern Washington for 143 years, with a legacy of growing wheat and raising livestock that continues today. McGregor, 75, is chairman of The McGregor Company, which has provided agronomic services to Pacific Northwest farmers since 1882, with offices in three dozen eastern Washington communities.
Alex and his wife, Linda, will celebrate their 48th anniversary this summer. They have three children: Ian, 44; Kate, 41; and Emily, 39. They have twelve grandchildren, ages 6-26. Ian is president of the company and other family members are involved in the business, too.
McGregor holds a doctorate in history of the American West from the University of Washington and has taught history at UW and Whitman College. He has authored several Pacific Northwest agricultural history books and has been active in speaking out for Northwest families for many years. He first spoke about trade and farm families at the request of Speaker of the House Tom Foley before the U. S. House and Senate Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, and Agriculture committees in June 1985.
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