USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced this week that the application deadlines for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Classic in Washington state with a strong focus on conservation planning, conservation implementation, and solving natural resource concerns. EQIP is a voluntary, technical and financial assistance program designed to help farmers, ranchers, private forestland owners, Tribes and other private landowners/managers ... Read More »

Presidential candidates respond to questions from Farm Bureau From DTN Responding to questions from the American Farm Bureau Federation, President Donald Trump’s campaign points to the administration’s support for farmers and agriculture in regulations, trade and labor, while former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign counters a Biden presidency would repair some of the trade relations that have affected agriculture the ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.9 days the previous week. In western Washington, it continued to stay dry. Irrigation continued where it was possible. Tree fruit began to ripen. CSA farms continued to haul in large harvests. Livestock were running low on pastures. Pastures started to suffer from lack of ... Read More »

Last week, 26 U.S. representatives and 21 U.S. senators from wheat producing states issued letters to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue asking that he use existing funds through the CARES Act to begin covering 2020 crop losses and to include all classes of wheat. “NAWG is grateful for Congressman Frank Lucas’s (R-Okla.) leadership on this important effort to ... Read More »

From USDA Farmers and ranchers can now contact a call center to receive one-on-one assistance from USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) employees ready to help. By calling 877-508-8364, customers can ask questions about FSA programs – including to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) – and get a jump start on program applications. The call center was created in response ... Read More »

From Reuters Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials reaffirmed their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal, which has seen China lagging on its obligations to buy American goods, giving a boost to financial markets on Tuesday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, the same as reported the previous week. Washington grain harvest continued in a weather week that saw a little of everything. Crop conditions remained relatively unchanged. In western Washington, warm and dry weather continued with the exception of some quick rain late in the week. Fruit trees continued ... Read More »

From agriculture.com Loopholes remain, but the USDA is tightening its crop subsidy rules by limiting who can collect a payment for managing a farm, historically one of its most porous definitions. The new regulation, to be published soon, requires people to perform at least 500 hours of management or at least 25 percent of the management work required annually to ... Read More »

From Bloomberg The global wheat trade is being shaken up again after extreme weather hurt crops in the European Union while harvests are booming elsewhere. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 6.8 reported the previous week. A cooler weather pattern gave way to much warmer temperatures late in the week. Several state records for high temperature were set on Sunday in the western portions of the state. The swing back to hot and dry weather had ... Read More »