The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington (NRCS) has opened a second batching period for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Only applications eligible for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds will be batched and ranked during this batching period. Producers interested in applying this round need to do so by June 6, 2024. The IRA provides ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Recently released summaries from the House and Senate ag committees will move farm bill conversations along, a representative of the National Association of Wheat Growers says. House Ag Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., last week released a 5-page summary and Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., released a 90-page section-by-section document. Thompson is expected to release ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.7 days the previous week. Western Washington received excess moisture over the past week. Central Washington had cool temperatures for this time of the year, which slowed pasture growth. In northeast Washington, mornings of heavy frost and afternoons of showers had slowed spring ... Read More »

As both the House and Senate ag committees released summaries of proposed farm bill legislation this week, the Washington Association of Wheat Growers is pleased and encouraged to see movement on this critical piece of legislation. “Washington wheat growers are thrilled to see forward progress on the 2024 Farm Bill and hope lawmakers can work together to pass a comprehensive, ... Read More »

From dtnpf.com Prospective farm bill plans laid out in both the U.S. House and Senate would see some tweaks to reference prices, potentially allow some farmers to add new base acres and expand crop insurance coverage for farmers as well. After months of talks and delay, the leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees each laid out separate farm-bill ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 7 days the previous week. Areas of western Washington saw rain that helped improve the soil profile. Central Washington had continued cool, dry weather. In Douglas County, intermittent rain showers provided moisture but interfered with weed spraying. In Yakima County, a few varieties ... Read More »

By Xianming Chen USDA Research Plant Pathologist On April 24, when we were planting spring wheat nurseries at the Palouse Conservation Farm Station near Pullman in Whitman County, I was checking our winter wheat nurseries. Plants had reached middle jointing stage (Feekes 6), and stripe rust was more widespread than the last report, with almost all susceptible check rows having ... Read More »

From crosscut.com Andy Juris, a dryland wheat and alfalfa grower in Bickleton, in Klickitat County, knows precisely how much fertilizer to put on different areas of his farm. Juris needs to ensure he uses the right amount of fertilizer. Too much can damage the plant, but not enough may prevent full development. But Juris says the proper use of fertilizers also ... Read More »

From Water Power Magazine By Kurt Miller Northwest Public Power Association For the past five years, I’ve worked as a hydropower advocate, which has given me some great opportunities. For instance, I was a keynote speaker at the Hydropower International Conference in 2022 and CEATI’s Hydropower Conference in 2023. I even graced the January 2023 cover of Hydro Leader Magazine. ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 6.7 days the previous week. Some areas of western Washington experienced dry conditions. Central Washington experienced high winds that dried out the topsoil and caused grasses to start heading out. In Yakima County, there was no precipitation over the past week. The upper ... Read More »