Agriculture is so much more than growing food in orchards and fields. And most Washingtonians whose families have spent multiple generations here have had a part in our agricultural industry somehow. We found a few behind-the-scenes photos from back in the day that show a different side of the farming process.

In this photo from 1941, a state inspector is separating rye from wheat in Walla Walla County. By hand.
Russell Lee / photogrammar.yale.edu
And in this photo, the same state inspector is running a dockage test on wheat.
Russell Lee / photogrammar.yale.edu
Wheat dockage is described as weed seeds, weed stems, chaff, straw, or grain other than wheat, which can be removed from the wheat by the use of appropriate cleaning tools.
Here's another 1941 photo of grain samples, which were (and are) kept by state inspectors.
Russell Lee / photogrammar.yale.edu

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Check out this wheat elevator from Walla Walla County in the early 1940s.
Russell Lee / photogrammar.yale.edu
Spraying the orchards in the Yakima Valley was no easy task in the 1930s.
Arthur Rothstein / photogrammar.yale.edu
And some things, like apple picking, never change.
Dorothea Lange / photogrammar.yale.edu
This photo is from 1939.

Despite being a relatively “new” state, Washington has a great history. Just look at these vintage photos.

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