The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced this week that the Washington State Department of Transportation has been selected to receive a $72.8 million Fiscal Year 2022 Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant for capital improvements on the PCC short-line railroad. State funding from the Move Ahead Washington transportation package, as well as local and private contributions, will bring ... Read More »
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Washington counties of Asotin, Columbia, Garfield, Walla Walla, and Whitman suffered from a drought intensity value during the growing season of 1) D2 Drought-Severe for eight or more consecutive weeks or 2) D3 Drought-Extreme or D4 Drought-Exceptional. This natural disaster designation allows the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) ... Read More »
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.9 reported the previous week. Western Washington conditions remained dry. Livestock producers were already using stored winter feed. Feed corn was short this year in some western Washington counties, and some fields dried up earlier than normal. Central Washington had dry conditions, but ... Read More »
Last month in Washington, D.C., leaders and staff of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers (WAWG) met with members of the state’s federal delegation during a National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) farm bill fly-in. “D.C. is currently bustling with farm bill talks. We were able to meet with most of our state’s federal delegation and have meaningful conversations about ... Read More »
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, unchanged from the previous week. Western Washington corn silage and seed potato harvest was in full swing. Final grass cuttings had taken place, and conditions were still dry. Central Washington had consistent hot and dry temperatures. In Yakima County, producers started to plant some fall ... Read More »
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 5.8 days reported the previous week. Western Washington conditions were dry, and farmers made good time on harvest. Central Washington had consistent weather across the week, with daytime highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s. In Yakima County, dry conditions persisted. Apple ... Read More »
From the Capital Press A Washington state senator has renewed his proposal to refund cap-and-trade costs to farmers and haulers of farm goods, an idea that failed to win support last spring from farm groups. Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) said Friday he expects more backing now for refunds. The Department of Ecology hasn’t yet found a way to exempt farm fuels ... Read More »
From the Capital Press A stay in long-running litigation over the Snake River dams has been extended for 60 days to allow federal mediation to continue, but ag and electrical utility stakeholders say they’re losing faith in the process. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.9 days reported the previous week. It remained dry in western Washington. Nonirrigated grass forage production was down in this region, along with corn and grains. Pumpkins appeared to be maturing too early for agritourism. The quality of berries, flowers, and fresh market ... Read More »
From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 6.4 days reported the previous week. Western Washington continued to see dry conditions. Grains were almost ready for harvest in San Juan County. Central Washington remained dry but saw temperatures drop. In Klickitat County, spring wheat harvest was almost halfway complete, and fall ... Read More »
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