Beginning today, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) service centers will be instituting locked door policies, with no public access to USDA offices. One employee per agency will be permitted in the office (one conservation district employee, one NRCS employee, one FSA employee, etc.) on a rotating schedule. High-risk employees will not be subject to rotation during this full telework plan. ... Read More »

Download the report here. The 2020 Legislative session has come to a close, concluding its intense 60-day session on time. The session began focusing on homelessness, housing and transportation in light of voter-approved $30 car tabs. However, the final days of the session were dominated by fears about the potential economic fallout from COVID-19. These fears led lawmakers to cut ... Read More »

The following letter was delivered to Governor Inslee March 18, 2020, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a call to keep Washington agriculture moving forward in uncertain times. We understand COVID-19 is creating a stressful time and policy decisions are extremely difficult and fluid. You can be assured Washington’s farmers, dairies, livestock auction markets, ranchers and food processors ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The 2020 legislative session wrapped up on March 12, concluding its intense 60-day session on-time for the third year in a row.  Legislators began the 2020 session primarily focused on homelessness, housing and figuring out transportation funding in light of voter-approved $30 car tabs.  Democratic lawmakers also hoped to use their large majorities in the ... Read More »

From Progressive Farmer Planting season for many is right around the corner, if it hasn’t already started. Meanwhile, the country is dealing with unprecedented times where schools, restaurants and businesses are closed to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, and we are encouraged to keep social gatherings to no more than 10 people. As farms, we simply can’t halt upcoming ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The wheat market will be full of uncertainties for the foreseeable future, a Washington Grain Commission board member says. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

By Christopher Mertz Director, Northwest Region, National Agricultural Statistics Service The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is working with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to conduct a pilot nonirrigated cropland survey. The purpose of this pilot study is to provide supplemental data to FSA to help set Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) rates as they pertain to ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The severity and length of trade disruptions caused by the coronavirus won’t be clear for several weeks, but there are signs that logistical problems caused by the disease may have already peaked, according to port and trade group representatives. Read the rest of the article. Read More »

There’s some good news for Douglas County producers who are wondering what to do with their expiring Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage. At February’s state board meeting of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG), Jon Wyss, Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Washington state executive director, announced a temporary fix for growers in Douglas County who are ineligible for the current ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist Tuesday marked the 57th day of the 2020 Legislative Session which is scheduled to end on March 12. Another important legislative deadline occurred last week, in which all bills must have passed out of both chambers to remain alive, unless they are deemed Necessary To Implement the Budget. Over the next four days the legislature ... Read More »