By Zach Ducheneaux Administrator, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency In January, we announced two new programs designed to assist producers who experienced revenue losses from 2020 and 2021 natural disasters or the COVID-19 pandemic. These programs are revenue-based and feel a little different from our regular programs, but the goal is to better support farmers. Both the Emergency Relief ... Read More »

Canadian agronomist will dial into the details of growing a successful wheat  crop By Trista Crossley Editor, Wheat Life The details matter when it comes to growing a successful crop, and it’s the details that Ted Labun will be focusing on at next month’s Wheat College. Labun is the owner of TLC Agronomics Inc., a consulting company based in Calgary, ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The Legislature adjourned Sine Die as scheduled on the 105th day of the 2023 Legislative Session on Sunday, April 23. In the final week of the session, the Legislature focused on two items: bill concurrence and finishing negotiations on the state’s biennial budgets: operating, capital and transportation. Additionally, the governor has begun signing bills into ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Washington will follow California’s lead and ban new diesel trucks beginning in 2036, a governor’s spokesman said Tuesday. The governor’s office was going over the rule passed April 28 by the California Air Resources Board and does not have a timeline for adopting it, spokesman Mike Faulk said in an email. “We’re still reviewing California’s actions, ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 7 days reported last week. Western Washington saw good grass growth and leafing out on raspberry and blueberry plants. Farmers continued to prepare fields for planting. In Skagit County, activities were behind because of the cold and wet spring conditions. Some parts of central Washington saw precipitation ... Read More »

From agriculture.com Production prospects for the U.S. winter wheat crop are the worst in recent memory in core areas of the Great Plains following a three-year drought, farmers and crop experts said. “I don’t know how to put it into words how bad it is,” said farmer Gary Millershaski in southwest Kansas, among the areas hit hardest by drought. He ... Read More »

National Association of Wheat Growers President and Klamath Falls, OR wheat farmer Brent Cheyne, testified in front of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade during the “Commodity Programs, Credit, and Crop Insurance – Part 1: Producer Perspectives on The Farm Safety Net” hearing. “With the rising input costs, decreasing net farm income, and the smallest winter ... Read More »

From NASS There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 5.8 days the previous week. Western Washington saw warmer temperatures and improved pasture growth. Spring planted crops emerged, and grass growth was noticeable. Berry farmers laid out irrigation piping, and newly planted strawberries emerged. Central Washington also saw warmer temperatures, and spring work was underway. Grass was ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen On April 26 and 27, we were planting spring cereal nurseries and taking the first notes of the winter nurseries at Mount Vernon, Wash. The winter plants were at middle jointing stage (Feekes 6 on average). Wheat stripe rust was up to 80% severity on susceptible varieties. Barley stripe rust was up to 40% severity. The ... Read More »

By U.S. Reps. Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers Special to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Last month, President Biden signaled his support for tearing out four federal hydroelectric dams that are integral to energy reliability, navigation, and irrigation in the Pacific Northwest. Here’s our message to the president: Come visit our communities and see the river system with your own eyes ... Read More »