Maier leads state's wheat growers

As a fourth generation farmer in the area, Eric Maier has been a part of the Ritzville community his entire life. Maier is currently the president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) and dedicates his time to further the success of wheat farmers.

Maier’s great-grandfather homesteaded in the Packard area and over the years, the farm has spread to different areas. Maier began his farming career as a young boy on his grandfather’s farm and loved every minute of the farming life.

Maier lives just outside of Ritzville with his wife, Pam, in the house that he grew up in. The Maier’s have two children, Ana and Zach, both who attended Washington State University. Zach continues to return home to assist on the farm and is currently studying agronomy at WSU.

For many years, Maier has been involved as a leader for farmers in the local area and across the state. Originally, Maier did not have an interest in politics but as time went along, he found he enjoyed the political aspect and lobbying.

During the beginning of his term as president, Maier spent the majority of his time lobbying not only in Olympia but also in Washington, D.C. Maier is also the state legislature chair for WAWG and has held that position for the last six years.

A goal for Maier and WAWG over the course of the year is to help consumers understand where their food comes from and help tell the story. With there being so much concern about genetically modified foods and chemicals on products, Maier believes it is important that the public has a general understanding of where their food came from.

“We’re working on a farm-city exchange program, it has been done in the past. It brings key leaders from the west side and brings them to the farm,” said Maier. “The wheat story will be told, and who better to tell it than the wheat grower.”

Maier said a lot of legislators visit his farm or other farms and says those relationships work well for both parties involved. Maier believes that the direct contact and familiarity with the legislators makes those leaders more likely to contact farmers about issues and bills.

A major concern for the WAWG committee is the two genetically modified organism (GMO) food labeling bills, Senate Bill 6298 and House Bill 2637. These bills require that all food that has been modified to be resistant to certain types of pests and herbicides, and some cases, plants that can withstand drought have to be labeled.

While there is not wheat commercially grown that is GMO modified, there are scientists working on a modification that would make wheat drought and herbicide resistant. Maier worries that the bills would make wheat export more difficult or impossible since most importing countries do not want genetically modified products.

Cross contamination of GMO crops and non-GMO crops is another potential worry and risk for farmers. The contamination could be detrimental to the export of those crops.

With this year also being a Farm Bill year, WAWG officials are working with the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) to make sure that wheat farmers have a voice. The top priority for NAWG regarding the Farm Bill is to have crop insurance as part of the policy.

“This is a Farm Bill year so we’re really busy since we don’t know what it’s going to look like. It’s going to be leaner and everything is going to take a reduction so I’m watching closely,” said Maier.

For Maier, a main goal is to expand the amount of public exposure surrounding agricultural issues, wheat in particular, because public exposure is not something that has been done before. With a strong membership, Maier believes that the future for wheat growers is optimistic.

WAWG has an active membership that participates in the campaign for the Farm Bill as well as local bills such as SB 6298 and HB 2637. There has been a steady growth of members with 123 joining recently bringing the total number to about 1,500 WAWG members. There are an estimated 4,000 wheat growers statewide.

Maier is currently focusing on showing the farming community that there is an advantage to being part of WAWG, or other agricultural organizations, because the association can show farmers what issues WAWG is active in and help carry the farmers’ voice forward.

Before Maier became an officer on the WAWG board, he served as Adams County president for a number of years and as a state board member for the Washington Association of Grain Growers. After serving in those roles, Maier decided to apply for a leadership role in WAWG.

WAWG is in a partnership with the Washington Grain Commission (WGC) through the Washington Grain Alliance (WGA), and while the commission cannot lobby, the wheat growers group can. With the WGA as a sister-agency, the two groups work together to help educate people about issues and allows the two organizations to have one, unified voice.

Maier says that WAWG is involved in legislature on a state and national level and focuses on natural resources and education. As Maier says, the group is an active bunch of committed people.

“I can’t say enough about the staff and volunteers that work for us, and the farmers that volunteer their time to help us,” Maier said.

During the past two months, Maier has spent the majority of his time traveling to Washington, D.C. and Olympia for lobbying purposes. In Olympia, two growers from every district joined together to oppose the GMO labeling bills.

Maier attended the Ag Expo in Spokane, went to a couple retreats to see what upcoming plans the group had, and also went to Nashville for the Commodity Classic in February.

“There are a lot of things that keep us running. It starts in November and goes until February before it slows down in the spring. Then during harvest time, we have the visitations from legislators,” said Maier.

After the committee side slows down, Maier says that WAWG is interested in exploring options about transportation, Pacific Northwest waterways and dams because he believes they partner well with WAWG.

Maier says that WAWG and NAWG are thought very highly of not only in Olympia but also on a national level. NAWG interfaces on national issues with Washington legislators Senator Patty Murray and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

“The main story is that these are family farmers out here on the land, not corporate, though they might have ties. But we care about safety, nutrition and are good stewards of the land,” Maier said. “It is good to work for a group that has a positive image.”