The End of the Sack: Inland Empire Farmers Vote to Bulk Their Grain
A convention of 300 regional grain growers resolves to modernize agricultural shipping, shifting from manual sack-handling to bulk storage and transport.
About 300 farmers of the Inland Empire assembled in Spokane and, with only five opposing votes, decided to handle their grain in bulk instead of sacks. R. D. Jarboe, chief grain inspector for the state, remarked that the shift would revolutionize the industry. He noted that the Pacific Northwest grain growers spend millions on sacks, a cost that can be eliminated. While the transition will require farmers to invest in on-farm storage infrastructure and will challenge existing warehouse methods, growers believe the adoption of bulk handling will align local prices with world markets and streamline the shipping of the 1916 harvest.
“The anti-sack agitation is not confined to Washington, Oregon and Idaho alone, but Argentina is trying as hard as you are to get away from it, and they pay about $21,000,000 a year for sacks.”
This 1916 shift mirrors the ongoing technological evolution of Washington agriculture. Today, the debate over infrastructure investments—like rail capacity and irrigation—continues to define how Inland Empire growers connect their harvest to the global economy.
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