For Washington wheat growers, the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention was back on their home turf, taking place last month in Spokane at the Davenport Grand Hotel. Approximately 500 growers, agency representatives and industry supporters gathered to hear top notch speakers; establish guidance on industry concerns; and learn the latest on herbicide resistance, 2018 Farm Bill programs and other topics ... Read More »

From NASS There were 4.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 5.7 days suitable the previous week. The season was basically over for fall work in most counties, although harvesting of unflooded fall crops continued in Snohomish County, and some corn had not been harvested in Columbia and Walla Walla counties. Typical fall conditions of rain ... Read More »

From DTN Jason Henderson, director of Purdue University Extension and former Federal Reserve economist, is tired of talking about the 1980s. “Where we’re at in the ag business cycle, it’s not the ’80s,” he told a national meeting of agriculture lenders. “In my mind, we’re smack dab in the middle of the 1990s and the long plateau.” Read the rest ... Read More »

From the Capital Press We have been skeptical that there could be Congressional approval of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, before next year’s election given the great partisan divide between the White House and Congressional Democrats. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen Tuesday, we were checking wheat fields in Whitman, Adams, Lincoln, Grant and Douglas counties in Washington. Winter wheat ranged from emerging (before Feekes 1) to early jointing (Feekes 5). Among more than 30 fields with wheat plants in the growth range of Feekes 3 to 5, stripe rust was observed in three fields, one in Lincoln ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Belching livestock, decomposing manure and cultivated cropland emitted about 6.6% of Washington’s greenhouse gases in 2017, the Washington Department of Ecology reported Tuesday. The agriculture sector contributed 6.5 million metric tons to the state’s release of 97.5 million metric tons of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Read the rest of the article ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.3 days suitable the previous week. North Puget Sound was unusually dry, but returned to equilibrium with low-pressure systems bringing rain and wind. Most crops were removed from growing areas. Some livestock were grazing on pastures, while others were on stored feed. Soils were still ... Read More »

From NASS  There were 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 5.0 days suitable the previous week. San Juan County had similar conditions to last week. Cool nights and warm days had sun mixed with clouds. Most fields in Snohomish County were too wet for field work. Late-planted cover crops on corn silage fields emerged. A ... Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review Both U.S. senators from Washington signed an analysis by congressional staffers that shows the Trump administration’s $16 billion bailout of U.S. farmers has mostly benefited those growers in the South and large companies over small operations. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray joined 15 other Democratic senators in critiquing how the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Agriculture ... Read More »

From the Tri-City Herald For the eight days beginning on Halloween, Washington state and the Northwest got a stark look at the danger of replacing hydro power with renewables like wind power. During that period of time, there was virtually no wind across the states served by the Bonneville Power Administration, leaving hydro, nuclear, and fossil fuels to make up ... Read More »