A hay truck sits in the parking lot of Anderson Hay and Grain in Ellensburg, Washington. The company, founded in 1960, specializes in exporting timothy and alfalfa hay, primarily to Asia.
October 27, 2022
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Hay exports overcome transportation challenges
ELLENSBURG — For sheer value of Washington state’s farm exports, you can’t beat apples. According to figures recently published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021 apple exports totaled nearly $2.2 billion, up 4.3% from apple exports in 2020, and roughly one-fifth of the total value of state farm product exports of $10.2 billion. While a few farm commodities posted increases in 2021 from the previous year’s levels — the value of cattle and calf exports rose 13.6%, hop exports rose 8.4% — the USDA reported the value of most of the state’s farm exports fell in 2021, some by a little — the value of potato exports fell 5.4% — while wheat exports fell by a whopping 20.2%.