From NASS There were 6.2 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 4.8 days suitable the previous week. The Puget Sound area had cold, dry conditions for the week. Farmers were preparing fields and planting fall crops. Early major flooding last week of the Snoqualmie River and Stillaguamish River caused major vegetable crop loss. Rivers rose. Most ... Read More »

Columbia River Treaty negotiations between the U.S. and Canada are ongoing, with the latest round taking place in September in British Columbia. According to a press release from the government of B.C., delegations from tribes of both nations presented on ecosystem work collaboration. Other issues discussed were flood-risk management and hydropower. The U.S. team is led by chief negotiator, Jill ... Read More »

House Agriculture Committee member Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) joined with two of her colleagues, Rep. Jimmy Pannetta (D-Calif.) and Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill), to introduce a bill that would authorize an annual 5 percent funding increase at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In a press release, the group said the bill, The America Grows Act, restores the U.S. public’s ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates U.S. Wheat Associates Assistant Director Michael Anderson recently spent a week on a tugboat that was pushing grain barges down the Snake, Columbia and Willamette rivers from Lewiston, Idaho, to Portland, Ore. Read More »

From NASS There were 4.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 5.4 days suitable the previous week. A few breaks in the Pacific storm systems allowed farmers in Western Washington to get out into fields and continue the slog through harvest. Wet conditions delayed field preparation for fall-planted crops. Portions of many fields had standing water. ... Read More »

The U.S. Department Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) fall surveys are underway, and they encourage wheat producers to participate in the surveys when they receive them either by mail or telephone. The feedback producers provide can create a foundation for crop yield, production practices, and help set up loan rates, disaster payments, and crop insurance price elections. There are ... Read More »

By Dalton Henry, USW Vice President of Policy While the trade policy headlines from the month of October have mostly been written about a possible “phase one” trade deal between the United States and China, much less has been said about the recently revised and published China Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) rules for importing wheat and other agricultural products—though their ... Read More »

The National Wheat Foundation officially began accepting applications for the Jerry Minore Scholarship, honoring students pursuing a career in agriculture. The scholarship is available to both high school and college students for the 2019-2020 academic year with an application deadline of Dec. 01, 2019. “The scholarship is meant to aid those students who have shown a passion for agriculture both ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 4.5 days suitable the previous week. Western Washington had its first freeze for the season. San Juan County had more rain and a cold wave with freezing temperatures. There was already standing water on recently harvested silage fields in Snohomish County. Producers were busy trying ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Passage of the USMCA trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico may be getting closer, says the head of the U.S. wheat industry’s overseas marketing arm. “We need it very badly as a sign to the Mexicans that we’re in this for good, we’re not backing out of this,” said Vince Peterson, president of U.S. ... Read More »