The National Wheat Foundation has officially begun accepting applications for the Jerry Minore Scholarship, honoring students pursuing a career in agriculture. The scholarship is available to college students for the 2021-2022 academic year with an application deadline of Dec. 31, 2020. “The scholarship is meant to recognize those students who have shown a passion for agriculture both inside and outside ... Read More »

By Shelbi Knisley Director of Trade Policy, U.S. Wheat Associates Last week, U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for the annual National Trade Estimates (NTE) report. The NTE report allows U.S. industry organizations to highlight and comment on trade barriers impacting their trade opportunities to the U.S. government. USW highlighted several key ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Which parties control the U.S. House and Senate — and not the outcome of the presidential election — will impact the commodity markets most, an agricultural economist says. “It’s pretty clear that the Senate and the House aren’t going to change leadership, so that’s some certainty that’s been interjected into the market,” said Randy Fortenbery, small ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.5 days the previous week. Western Washington experienced a few dry days allowing some late cuttings of grass hay and other crop harvesting to take place. The weather created some challenges during the year that left mixed results in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Skagit and Snohomish ... Read More »

From Jon Wyss, State Executive Director Washington State Farm Service Agency Washington State Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff has worked with Washington, D.C., staff to obtain approval to allow fire-impacted Washington producers who want to utilize Conservation Reserve Program Emergency Haying and Grazing for longer than 90 days to do so, not to exceed Dec. 31. This would apply to ... Read More »

From Crosscut.com Tuesday’s election wasn’t a blowout victory for Democrats in Washington state. Yet it looks as if Democrats may gain a few seats in the state Legislature — and even those modest gains could help propel some progressive priorities over the finish line, lawmakers said Wednesday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Today, the Washington State Supreme Court issued its decision concerning the constitutionality of RCW 49.46.130(2)(g), the statute exempting agricultural workers from the overtime pay requirement set out in the Washington Minimum Wage Act, ch. 49.46 RCW. In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court sided with the class of affected agricultural workers and held ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist While ballots are still being counted, early results from the Nov. 3, 2020, election suggest that a combination of wins for both Republicans and Democrats even out to Democrats slightly increasing majorities in the both the state Senate and House of Representatives. However, the final election results will determine whether the legislature is more progressive. ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.5 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 5.8 days the previous week. Western Washington experienced near freezing temperatures and a bit of rain. In San Juan County, most CSA operations scrambled to recover the remaining field crop harvests before the hard frost. Livestock were on cool season resurgent grasses and stockpiled feed ... Read More »

Report could have major implications for dam debate From Northwest River Partners Newly published research has unveiled remarkable insight into the survival rates of Chinook salmon populations along the North American West Coast, highlighting a dramatic omission in the way such data has been interpreted for over two decades. The peer-reviewed research entitled, “A Synthesis of the Coast-wide Decline in ... Read More »