From NASS There were 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.3 days suitable the previous week. A lot of precipitation was received in western Washington which helped replenish soil moisture, but slowed harvest. In San Juan County, livestock continued to graze in any field that had regrowth. In Chelan and Douglas counties apple harvest for ... Read More »

From DTN’s Progressive Farmer The Columbia-Snake River System in the Pacific Northwest is the nation’s single largest wheat export gateway, transporting over 50% of all U.S. wheat to markets overseas. That all came to a temporary, but very significant, stoppage at the Bonneville Lock and Dam, located about 40 miles northeast of Portland, Oregon. On Thursday, Sept. 5, the lock ... Read More »

From NASS Cropland Cash Rent Cash rent expense for all cropland in Washington is $201 per acre for 2019, down $2.00 per acre from the previous year. Irrigated cropland is estimated at $360 per acre, up $2.00 per acre from 2018. Nonirrigated cropland rental expense is $75.00 per acre, unchanged from last year. Idaho is estimated at $159 per acre for 2019, ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.7 days suitable the previous week. Western Washington was mostly dry, but received a few scattered showers through the week. Hay was still being baled. Blueberry harvest wrapped up, and most pastures had stopped growing. Whatcom County received rain later in the week. Corn for ... Read More »

From the Washington State FSA September newsletter The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorized the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC). Elections and enrollment for 2019 ARCPLC began on Sept. 3, 2019. The 2020 enrollment and yield updates will begin in October of 2019. The 2018 Farm Bill requires, as a condition of base acre payment eligibility for 2019, ... Read More »

By Michael Anderson U.S. Wheat Associates Assistant Director, West Coast Office Early in 2019, I attended a presentation given by the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA), Kristin Meira. In the audience were farmers eager to hear how U.S. legislators shared their interests regarding the ongoing navigability of the Columbia and Snake River systems. Open waterways are ... Read More »

From Farm Progress There’s some good news on ag trade. President Donald Trump recently announced a trade agreement in principle between the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. Wheat Associates said in a statement that the agreement will “keep exports of U.S. wheat flowing to a “very large and crucial market for U.S. farmers.” Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 6.4 days suitable the previous week. Western Washington had a dry week; prime growing areas had a deficit of eight to 12 inches of rainfall. Soil moisture and drought conditions intensified with only a trace of precipitation for the past week. Shallow-rooted crops and pasture ... Read More »

From NAWG Today, the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) interim registration decision for glyphosate. NAWG president and Lavon, Texas, farmer, Ben Scholz, made the following statement: “Glyphosate has been on the market for more than 40 years (1974 initial registration) and has passed multiple scientific reviews in each of its over 100 ... Read More »

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 »