Wheat and barley are the primary grain crops grown in Washington. There are roughly 3,715 activey wheat and barley farmers in Washington State!
Whitman County, located in the heart of the Palouse, is known to be the largest wheat producing county in the U.S.
These facts and more can be found at the Washington Grain Commission.
There are six different wheat classes grown in the U.S.: Hard Red Winter (HRW), Hard Red Spring (HRS), Hard White (HW), Durum, Soft White (SW), and Soft Red Winter (SRW).Washington growers mostly soft white, HRS and HRW types. Each type has different uses.
In the U.S., wheat varieties are classified either as “winter” or “spring” depending on the season each is planted. Winter varieties are sown in the fall and are usually established before the cold weather arrives and then goes dormant over the winter. Typically about 80% of Washington’s total production is winter and 20% is spring.
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