State

From the Capital Press The vast majority of salmon are getting up, over, around and through the four lower Snake River dams even as legal challenges and political battles swirl around them, according to the federal agency in charge of monitoring fish health. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 6.4 days recorded the previous week. Widespread warm temperatures allowed farmers to complete planting for spring planted grains and row crops in some areas. Farmers irrigated throughout the week to maintain adequate topsoil conditions. Grass growth and crop emergence benefited from the warmer temperatures. In Western Washington, ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen On May 16, we were checking winter wheat fields in Whitman, Garfield, Columbia, Walla Walla, Franklin and Adams counties in Washington. Winter wheat ranging from early jointing (Feekes 5) to early flowering (Feekes 10.51). Stripe rust was not found in any of the checked commercial fields and not found in our stripe rust experimental plots in Central Ferry (Garfield County) and ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 5.8 days last week. Western Washington had some grass growth, but the warm weather slowed the growth. In San Juan County, grass was heading even though it was too short to cut for hay. Central Washington had a great week for farming. Tractors cultivated, seeded and sprayed ... 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 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 »