Washington Farm Bureau News: Washington Farm Bureau History, Publication and Staff
Profile updated November 2026
Washington Farm Bureau News is the member publication of the Washington Farm Bureau, a title with roots in the regional Pacific Northwest Farm Bureau News of the 1920s. Now published twice a year with a focus on member activity, it works alongside the federation's digital news to give members timely, farm-focused information.
| Publisher | Washington Farm Bureau (Washington State Farm Bureau) |
|---|---|
| Federation founded | 1920, first annual meeting in Walla Walla |
| Title history | Pacific Northwest Farm Bureau News (1920s); Washington State Farm Bureau News from 1942 |
| Frequency | Twice yearly, per HistoryLink |
| Members | Nearly 46,000 in 25 county Farm Bureaus (2021) |
| Headquarters | Lacey, Washington |
| Official website | WSFB.com |
History of Washington Farm Bureau News
The Washington State Farm Bureau formed in 1920 out of county farm bureaus organized in the mid-1910s. George Hayton of Chehalis was elected the first president at the first annual meeting in Walla Walla. The office stayed in Walla Walla until 1947, moved to Spokane, then to Ellensburg in 1962 and Yakima, and reached the Olympia area by 1972; it is now based in Lacey.
The federation launched a Washington Wheat Growers League in 1940, organized insurance companies in 1951 and 1954, and later endorsed Country Financial products, which helped grow membership from about 3,500 in the 1970s to nearly 46,000 by 2021 with associate members. It created the Washington Farm Bureau Legal Foundation in 2010 and helped draft the state's Voluntary Stewardship Program in 2011.
The publication began in the mid-to-late 1920s as the Pacific Northwest Farm Bureau News, shared with Oregon and Idaho. In 1942 it became the Washington State Farm Bureau News.
Washington Farm Bureau News Today
HistoryLink reports that the federation now publishes Washington FB News twice yearly with a focus on member activity, while timely farm-focused news reaches members digitally. Rosella Mosby was unanimously re-elected state president at the 2024 annual meeting in Wenatchee, with Bridget Coon and Anne Lawrence re-elected vice presidents.
That meeting included a roundtable on federal programs from FSA, NRCS, NASS and Rural Development, the kind of practical content the federation passes on to members.
What Washington Farm Bureau News Is Publishing Now
Member activity
County Farm Bureau events, annual meeting results, leadership and awards, the main focus of the twice-yearly print edition.
Policy and legal work
Updates from Olympia and Washington, D.C., and news from the Washington Farm Bureau Legal Foundation.
Programs and resources
Federal and state program information, membership options from Friend of the Farmer to full farm membership, and member benefits.
Washington Farm Bureau News Editors and Staff
Washington Farm Bureau staff and officers include:
- Bailey Moon - Director of Marketing and Communications
- Tessa Taylor - Editorial contact
- Rosella Mosby - State President (re-elected 2024)
Communications inquiries go to the federation at 360.357.9975.
Who Reads Washington Farm Bureau News
Readers are Washington Farm Bureau members, from wheat growers on the Palouse and orchardists in the Wenatchee and Yakima valleys to west-side dairy, berry and nursery farmers. Membership options run from a $20 Friend of the Farmer level to farmer and rancher memberships set by each county.
Washington's farms share the national family-farm profile in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, which counted about 1.9 million U.S. farms, 95 percent family farms. The state's dairy and cattle producers are part of a national animal sector that USDA's Economic Research Service valued at $195.8 billion in 2021.
Washington Farm Bureau News readers grow apples, wheat, hops and cherries, and they can explain the Cascade rain shadow faster than any weatherman. For a laugh on either side of the mountains, farm.FM offers farm satire and farm humor in a Pacific Northwest voice, plus ranch humor for the cattle country east of the Cascades. Its farm jokes are the perfect length for a ferry ride or a wait at the packing shed.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
Washington Farm Bureau News Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- HistoryLink: Washington State Farm Bureau - full history and publication lineage.
- Washington Farm Bureau: 2024 annual meeting - officers and policy.
- USDA NASS: Census highlights - state and national farm summaries.
- USDA ERS: Animal product cash receipts - livestock economics.
- USDA NASS: Census of Agriculture - Washington county farm data.
Washington Farm Bureau News FAQ
How often is Washington Farm Bureau News published?
HistoryLink reports it is now published twice a year, focused on member activity.
What was the original name of the publication?
It began in the 1920s as the Pacific Northwest Farm Bureau News and became the Washington State Farm Bureau News in 1942.
When was the Washington Farm Bureau founded?
In 1920, with George Hayton of Chehalis as first president.
Who is president of Washington Farm Bureau?
Rosella Mosby, re-elected in 2024.
From a three-state 1920s paper to today's member edition, Washington Farm Bureau News has carried the federation's story for a century.