From NASS There were 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 5.4 days the previous week. Statewide temperatures were above normal. In Skagit County, the warm weather allowed short-season corn to be planted. In Snohomish County, hay for silage was cut. There was enough heat present to get the cucurbits growing instead of shivering along with the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press As a dryland cropping systems agronomist in western Nebraska for 22 years, Drew Lyon used to read Bill Schillinger’s research papers. “While he was kind of dealing with similar stuff, the Pacific Northwest is just different because of the rainfall patterns and the soil situations,” Lyon recalled. “It was always interesting to me because sometimes they ... Read More »

Agriculture groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, and the National Cotton Council, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to deny the writ of certiorari petition to hear the case Monsanto v. Hardeman, which pertains to state glyphosate health warnings: “We ... Read More »

Agricultural producers who have not yet completed their crop acreage reports after planting should make an appointment with their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center before the applicable deadline. July 15 is a major deadline for most crops, but acreage reporting deadlines vary by county and by crop. Producers should make an appointment as soon as possible to avoid ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 4.3 days the previous week. Statewide temperatures were below normal. In Clark County, the rain kept producers out of the field most of the week. No progress was made on putting up hay. In Whatcom County, conditions remained the same, which slowed fieldwork. Heavier soils were still ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The U.S. Supreme Court will not review a $25 million jury verdict that faulted Monsanto for not warning about the alleged cancer risk of its Roundup glyphosate herbicides. The nation’s court has let stand a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that pesticide manufacturers claim will allow for a hodgepodge of state labeling requirements for ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen As the weather has been cool and wet for the eastern Pacific Northwest (PNW), stripe rust has developed and spread quickly in the region. This week, we recorded stripe rust data in the experimental fields at Hermiston, Ore. (Umatilla Co.), Walla Walla, Wash. (Walla Walla Co.), and Lind, Wash. (Adams Co.). Stripe rust reached the highest severity ... Read More »

From the Capital Press When Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray commissioned a “study” of tearing down the four dams on the lower Snake River, we saw it as little more than another political sales pitch. The main goal would be to come up with a cost lower than the $33.5 billion estimated by Rep. Mike Simpson, ... Read More »

Last week, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Rep. Patty Murry (D-Wash.) released the draft report of their study on breaching the lower Snake River dams. The Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) finds the report’s conclusions — replacement of the dams’ benefits are possible but at a significant cost and with major restructuring of the region’s infrastructure — to be ... Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review Mike Miller, who farms wheat near Ritzville, was sitting around a board table on Thursday as his cohorts on the Washington Grain Commission talked about, among other things, the skyrocketing price of diesel. “It’s changed the way we are farming,” Miller said. “Diesel is twice what it was last year. We are trying to limit hours on ... Read More »