WAWG
From the Capital Press The Trump administration has signed off on a new operations plan for 14 dams in the Columbia River Basin that commits to improving fish passage and habitat, but does not call for breaching dams on the lower Snake River to protect endangered salmon and steelhead. On Sept. 28, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation ... Read More »
State
Crop progress report 09/27: Rain received throughout Washington
From NASS There were 6.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 6.6 days the previous week. In San Juan County, there were some nice field days until a major low-pressure system brought back much needed moisture. This reduced harvest time for many vegetable and fruit crops. Livestock were still on pasture, and most were supplemented with ... Read More »
State should partner with ports, agriculture to spur economic recovery
From The Seattle Times It would be an understatement to say 2020 is a tough year. Employment in all economic sectors around the state, except for health care, has cratered. There continue to be heroic efforts to make sure people have food, shelter and the other supplies basic to life and health. Much of the heavy lifting continues to be ... Read More »
2020 wheat spot begins airing
Crop progress report 09/20: Smoke cleared throughout Washington
From NASS There were 6.6 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up from 6.0 days the previous week. In western Washington, most fieldwork came to a halt or decreased due to the poor air quality from the wildfires. A couple of light rain events reduced the fire danger locally but did not provide the deep watering that was ... Read More »
$3 million gift establishes plant pathology endowment at WSU
From the Capital Press A $3 million gift will establish an endowed chair in plant pathology at Washington State University. The gift, from the Rosalie and Harold Rea Brown Foundation, establishes the Rosalie & Harold Rea Brown Distinguished Endowed Chair in Plant Pathology. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
All wheat now available for CFAP payments
All wheat is in! Last night, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a second round of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments that extends eligibility to all classes of wheat. In the first round of CFAP only hard red spring and durum wheat qualified for payments. The $14 billion package will provide payments for commodities that saw at least ... Read More »
Washington battles near-record wildfire year
From the Capital Press Washington’s air fleet and efforts to catch wildfires while they’re still small have helped keep the number of blazes down but the state is still headed for a record in acreage burned, the state forester says. “There have been literally dozens and dozens of fire starts that have been stopped at less than 10 acres,” George ... Read More »
Crop progress report 09/13: Smoke impeded fieldwork in Washington
From NASS There were 6.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.8 days the previous week. In western Washington, there were smoke intrusions from the fires in the east and now Oregon and California. Smoke did not stop harvest, but made it much more difficult and dangerous. The weather was hot and dry. CSA operations continued ... Read More »
FSA disaster program availability
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) provides assistance to qualifying farmers and ranchers within Washington state to help them recover from production or physical losses due to natural disaster events, such as the fires currently burning. This assistance is provided through FSA’s Emergency Loan Program or one of its many disaster programs. Below is a quick overview of FSA’s disaster programs ... Read More »