Governor Inslee has modified the provisions of Proclamation 20-25 applicable to essential workers and workplaces to prohibit any agricultural employer from continuing to operate beyond June 3, 2020, unless the employer complies with all provisions of the Agriculture COVID-19 requirements – Provisions for All Worksites and Work-Related Functions found at this link: https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID19AgriculturalSafetyPlan.pdf These requirements apply to orchards, fields, dairies ... Read More »

By Michelle Hennings Executive Director, Washington Association of Wheat Growers WOW! What an interesting couple of months it has been. Our office may be closed, and you won’t have seen us at any meetings lately, but the leaders and staff of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) are still working very hard on behalf of Eastern Washington wheat growers. ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 5.4 the previous week. Crop conditions and emergent progress benefited from a mixture of rain and sunshine throughout the state. Field crops looked good. Rain hampered some final planting and fieldwork. In western Washington, the warmer weather last week helped grass hay grow at a ... Read More »

Due to social distancing guidelines, Washington State University (WSU) Cereal Variety Testing Program has canceled their 2020 plot tours. According to the WSU small grains website, virtual tours will be recorded at Lind, the Wilke Farm/Reardan, Dayton and Pullman. The annual Lind Field Day has also been canceled. This is only the second field day cancellation in 105 years; the ... Read More »

From the U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Sonny Perdue announced last month a final rule updating and modernizing the USDA’s biotechnology regulations under the Plant Protection Act. The Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient (SECURE) rule will bring USDA’s plant biotechnology regulations into the 21st century by removing duplicative and antiquated processes in order to facilitate ... Read More »

Producers signed a record 1.77 million contracts for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2019 crop year, which is more than 107 percent of the total contracts signed compared with a 5-year average. USDA also reminds producers that June 30 is the deadline to enroll in ARC and PLC ... Read More »

Producers are reminded that if their general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) offer was accepted this spring, there are a number of forms to be completed and signed before the enrollment is complete and a contract is approved. If you are provided forms or other materials to complete and sign by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or the Natural Resources Conservation ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down some from 5.9 the previous week. Planting progress wrapped up, and good emergent progress was reported. In western Washington, a mix of rain and sunshine helped field crops stay healthy. In San Juan County, forage was almost ready for early haylage harvest. Livestock was on rotation ... Read More »

Today, growers in Eastern Washington learned many of them would not be eligible for the latest round of aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Soft red winter, hard red winter and white wheat have been deemed not eligible for the Coronovirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which sets aside $16 billion for direct payments to farmers and ranchers under ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen This week, we were eventually able to travel to Mount Vernon (Skagit County) in northwest Washington to finish the first note-taking of stripe rust in winter nurseries and planting spring nurseries. The activities were about two to three weeks later than usual. Winter wheat ranged from late jointing (Feekes 9) to headed (Feekes 10.5) and winter ... Read More »