From the Capital Press Washington’s pending capital gains tax will burden farmers and ranchers and influence investment decisions, eight agricultural groups assert in a court document. The groups filed an amicus brief July 16 in Douglas County Superior Court, supporting a lawsuit filed by the Washington Farm Bureau and some of its members challenging the tax’s constitutionality. Read the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The record-shattering heat wave in the Pacific Northwest has prompted fishing and conservation groups to ask a federal court to order more spill from dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers next spring to aid the migration of salmon and steelhead to the Pacific Ocean. Read the rest of the story here. Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for field work, unchanged from the previous week. Statewide temperatures for the week ending July 18, were above normal. In San Juan County, high temperatures remained throughout the area. Water was needed for crops and livestock. In Snohomish County, blueberry harvest continued, but some were damaged due to severe heat levels. Some pastures ... Read More »

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a letter to President Biden asking for additional federal assistance for the Evergreen State’s producers. The letter says, in part: “Unfortunately, in addition to the ongoing drought and low soil moisture problems, an extreme heat wave hit the state at the end of June. High temperature records were set across the state, topping out ... Read More »

From the Tri-City Herald Is Gov. Jay Inslee plotting to get rid of the four lower Snake River dams? Or did he offer them up in a meeting Thursday primarily as a way to appease Washington state tribal leaders?Tri-Citians and other dam stakeholders deserve clarity on the governor’s position, and they deserve it now. Read the rest here. Read More »

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers impacted by extreme drought conditions. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas. These new crop insurance flexibilities are part of USDA’s ... Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for field work, unchanged from the previous week. Statewide temperatures for the week ending July 11, were above normal. In Whatcom County, producers struggled to keep up with irrigation as high temperatures and dry conditions continued. Widespread damage to raspberries and blueberries was caused by the heat. In San Juan County, high temperatures ... Read More »

On July 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated 14 counties, mostly in Eastern Washington, as primary natural disaster areas. The declaration allows the Farm Service Agency (FSA) the ability to offer emergency loans to producers to help them replace essential equipment, inputs or the refinance of farm-related debts. Producers in 10 Washington counties that are contiguous to the ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington State University researchers are assessing the losses after a wildfire burned a portion of the dryland research station. The fire started shortly before 11 a.m. June 27, east of Lind, about half a mile away from the station. It burned a total of 2,100 acres. Read the rest of the story here. Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for field work, unchanged from the previous week. Statewide temperatures for the week ending July 4 were above normal. In San Juan County, dry conditions and a historic heat wave sparked the area. Soil moisture continued to decline. All crop conditions in nonirrigated areas suffered. Crops on limited irrigation were kept viable through ... Read More »