For the week ending May 1 Washington state plantings and crop progress ahead of schedule There were 5.9 days suitable for work. Pasture conditions were reported as 0% very poor, 6 % poor, 18% fair, 64% good and 12% excellent. Temperatures throughout the state ranged from the 27 degrees in the northeast region to 81 degrees in the southwest region. ... Read More »

The 2016 crop tour season will be starting at the end of this month. The tours give growers the opportunity to view field trials and interact with Washington State University (WSU) personnel and others about cereal varieties and crop management practices. Cereal breeders, extension agronomists, plant pathologists and other scientists will be presenting information at various events. The small grains ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A little more than a month ago, What’s Upstream was an obscure political advocacy campaign backed by Environmental Protection Agency money, a Washington state Indian tribe and a handful of environmental groups. Today, the campaign has been condemned by one-third of the U.S. House as an attack on agriculture, and the inspector general of the EPA ... Read More »

Two Washington legislators, Rep. Dan Newhouse and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, recently sent a letter to Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator Val Dolcini asking for his help in resolving an issue with the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and its delay in the release of participation data. That delay, the legislators say, can significantly impact growing decisions for farmers in the driest ... Read More »

For the week ending April 24 Warmer temperatures give Washington producers a foreseeable good crop year There were 6.5 days suitable for work. Pasture conditions were reported as 0% very poor, 0 % poor, 23% fair, 67% good and 10% excellent. Temperatures throughout the state ranged from 33 degrees Fahrenheit in the central region to 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has admitted that the Washington state billboards blaming farmers for pollution to waterways should never have been funded, but U.S. House members are now inquiring as to why the EPA funded the whatsupstream.com website, violating federal laws regarding lobbying and advocacy funds. Following the revelation that the EPA has ... Read More »

In a roundtable discussion earlier this week, USDA Deputy Under Secretary Alexis Taylor met with a group of wheat growers in Ritzville to discuss trade and other programs. As deputy under secretary, Taylor oversees the Foreign Ag Service, Farm Service Agency and Risk Management Agency. Taylor emphasized the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), explaining it is their number one ... Read More »

From the Capital Press One-third of the U.S. House on Wednesday accused the Environmental Protection Agency of breaking federal prohibitions against political advocacy by funding What’s Upstream. Three Democrats and 142 Republicans signed a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, stating that EPA’s support for the campaign maligns farmers, violates limits on the agency’s spending authority and exhibits a pattern ... Read More »

For the week ending April 17 Higher temperatures lead to more field work in Washington There were 6.0 days suitable for work. Pasture conditions were reported as 0% very poor, 0 % poor, 30% fair, 65% good and 5% excellent. Temperatures throughout the state ranged from the 28 degrees to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures were warmer than usual for this ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Nine members of Congress, led by Washington Reps. Dan Newhouse and Dave Reichert, are urging the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association to find ways to prevent port disruptions. A work slowdown crippled container exports in 2014 and 2015. At a conference in Long Beach, Calif., at the end of February, the ... Read More »