From USDA U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of the Chief Economist has published a detailed accounting of how estimated damage from trade disruptions was calculated for its support package for farmers announced on July 25, 2019. USDA’s Office of the Chief Economist developed an estimate of gross trade damages for ... Read More »

From U.S. Wheat Associates There is renewed hope this week that the United States and Japan are making good progress toward a trade agreement that we hope will ensure U.S. wheat can continue competing with Canadian and Australian wheat based on quality, variety and value. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.3 days suitable the previous week. Western Washington reported above average temperatures. Conditions became drier with ponds continuing to drop. Only small irrigated operations were doing well. So far, there were no concerns regarding crop damage or cattle losses due to weather conditions. Yakima County ... Read More »

From the Capital Press In the wake of the discovery of genetically engineered wheat in Washington state, farmers still have questions, and lots of them. In June, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced it was investigating GE wheat found in a fallow field. APHIS expects the current case to follow a timeline similar to previous cases, which lasted ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The U.S. wheat industry is reacting with disappointment after President Donald Trump said that Japan, their No. 1 customer, doesn’t really want to buy their grain. Read the entire article here. Read More »

From the Spokesman-Review Larry Yockey seeded 1,200 acres of wheat last fall as he always did. Following two years of bumper crops, he believed 2019 had the potential to be another strong season. Then, during the depths of winter, Yockey received the devastating news: he had stage four melanoma. The initial treatments went well, though the daily fatigue and pain ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 7.0 days suitable the previous week. Western Washington had weak storm fronts that brought cooler temperatures. Spotty rain showers stabilized crops, pastures, and soil moisture. Harvest continued for cereal crops. Some producers weaned calves and culled cows. Lighter, sandy soils were stressed. Vegetable and berry ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Agriculture representatives say a recent study that calls for removing four dams from the Lower Snake River relies on outdated and flawed data. “They start with flawed information and a flawed premise,” said Kristin Meira, director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From RMA The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) reminds producers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington to apply for crop insurance coverage for the 2020 crop year before the sales closing dates. Current policyholders who wish to make changes to their existing coverage also have until the sales closing dates to do so. Crop insurance is a ... Read More »

By Trista Crossley As the debate around breaching the lower Snake River dams continues, the Washington state agricultural industry brought more than 3 dozen state legislators and aides on a boat tour last week in an effort to demonstrate how important the dams are to the region’s economy. Legislators boarded the boat at the Port of Kennewick. While headed upstream ... Read More »