From npr.org On July 17 the Russian government announced that it was pulling out of a deal to facilitate the export of millions of tons of grain from Ukrainian ports. The arrangement had been in place since July 2022. The Kremlin’s move immediately sparked concern, particularly in food insecure countries. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, unchanged from 7 days reported the previous week. Western Washington reported dry conditions and drought, with no major changes to crop conditions from last week. Central Washington reported dry conditions and wildfires that had been contained. The second cutting of hay harvest had almost finished, and wheat harvest had ... Read More »

From dtnpf.com Russia on Monday declined to extend the year-old agreement that has allowed Ukrainian grain to move out of Black Sea shipping ports, a move that immediately drove up commodity prices in response. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From Reuters A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse. Why is it important? Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service Winter Wheat  Based on July 1, 2023, conditions, production of winter wheat in Washington is forecast at 99.2 million bushels, up 1% from last month, but down 19% from last year. Harvested area, at 1.74 million acres, is down 60,000 acres from 2022. Yield is expected to be 57 bushels per acre, down 11 ... Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 6.9 days reported the previous week. Western Washington reported more hot and dry conditions with no precipitation. Central Washington had crops showing signs of drought. Pasture was getting short, and ranchers were looking for places to move their livestock. In Yakima County, there was no precipitation, and ... Read More »

From the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association On July 10, the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA) released a review of scientific literature which confirms that data is lacking to confirm delayed mortality effects of the Lower Snake River dams (LSRD) on ESA listed fish. Delayed mortality is the scientific hypothesis that proponents of dam breaching rely upon to justify removal of ... Read More »

From the Capital Press A Washington Republican state senator said July 5 the Department of Ecology should act to bring down the cost of cap-and-trade allowances to ease the upward pressure on fuel prices. read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, unchanged from the previous week. Western Washington continued to experience hot and dry conditions. Most first cutting alfalfa hay was complete and second cutting was underway. Corn emerged, and farmers reported that grass crops were growing slower than usual due to the dry conditions. In central Washington, soil dried ... Read More »

From the National Association of Wheat Growers Sens. Bennet (D-Colo.) and Marshall (R-Kan.) have introduced new legislation to improve the flexibility of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) crop insurance programming for wheat farmers facing unprecedented drought. Currently, farmers do not have the option through the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) to separately ensure enterprise units by fallow or continuous ... Read More »