Author Archives: Trista Crossley

Crop progress report 05/15: Cooler temperatures throughout Washington

From NASS There were 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 4.6 days the previous week. Statewide temperatures were below normal. In San Juan County, cool and rainy weather continued throughout the area. Only a few acres of grass were harvested due to the weather preventing farmers from getting in fields. In Clark County, more rain occurred during ... Read More »

Peter ‘Wheat Pete’ Johnson will discuss ‘The Yield Triangle’ at 2022 Wheat College

By Trista Crossley Editor, Wheat Life Johnson, this year’s featured speaker, will be discussing “The Yield Triangle.” Johnson is the resident agronomist with Real Agriculture, where he posts a weekly podcast, “Wheat Pete’s Word.” He is a regular on “Agronomy Monday” on Real Ag radio, Sirius Satellite Radio 147. He spent 30 years as the Ontario cereal specialist. Johnson operates ... Read More »

Stripe rust update 05/12: Disease expected to develop in eastern PNW

By Dr. Xianming Chen  On May 11, we were checking winter wheat fields in Whitman, Garfield, Columbia, Walla Walla, Franklin and Adams counties in Washington. Because of the high moisture, wheat crops look good with winter wheat ranging from early jointing (Feekes 5) to boot (Feekes 10), and spring wheat ranging from just emerged to late tillering (Feekes 3). Stripe ... Read More »

USDA seeks feedback from producers about 2022 crops, stocks, inventories, values

During the next several weeks, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct two major midyear surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will contact more than 4000 producers across theNorthwest to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2022. “The June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey are two ... Read More »

PNW winter wheat production up 56 percent from last year

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service  Based on May 1, 2022, conditions, production of winter wheat in Washington is forecast at 121 million bushels, up 70 percent from 2021. Yield is expected to average 67 bushels per acre, up 25 bushels from the previous year. Growers planted an estimated 1.85 million acres in the fall of 2021, up 100,000 acres ... Read More »

Labor talks begin amid port problems; experts cautiously optimistic

From the Capital Press Contract negotiations between the longshoremen’s union and container terminal owners along the West Coast have begun amid port congestion problems that are already crippling farm exports. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

Crop progress report 05/08: Days for fieldwork down in Washington

From NASS There were 4.6 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 5.2 the previous week. Statewide temperatures were below normal. In San Juan County, cool and rainy weather continued throughout the area. Field conditions impacted crop planting, grass growth and first cuttings of hay. In Benton County, hop bines grew up the trellis system, and hop yard irrigation ... Read More »

Stebbings takes over as PNWA executive director

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA) has hired Heather Stebbings as executive director to replace Kristin Meira. Stebbings has 15 years of advocacy and public policy experience for the Pacific Northwest maritime community, including 13 years directing communications and government relations for PNWA. She joins the association from member Shaver Transportation, where she has served as marine services and government ... Read More »

5% SOLUTION: Researchers crack wheat’s genetic code, open door to higher yields

From the Capital Press Researcher Jorge Dubcovsky and his team have identified one of the genes in wheat that increases yield — the holy grail for farmers. Yield — the amount of wheat grown per acre — is how wheat farmers pay the bills. “We always joke in wheat breeding that the first three top priorities are yield, yield and ... Read More »

Washington counties declared drought disaster areas

On April 29, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated nine Washington counties as primary natural disaster areas. Those counties are Adams, Asotin, Benton, Franklin, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Walla Walla and Yakima counties. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, these counties suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive ... Read More »