State

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service The statewide temperatures for February were mostly below normal to normal for this time of year. Producers in central Washington received much needed precipitation in the form of snow. Crop activity was low, with some acres of orchards and hop yards torn out since the last cropping season. The northeastern region experienced cold weather. ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers  March 9 was day 56 of the 105-day regular session. With the deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin fast approaching, legislators have been focused this past week on floor action, debating, and voting on bills. The house of origin cutoff is 5 p.m. on March 12. Bills ... Read More »

By Xianming Chen Wheat stripe rust is forecasted to be in the low epidemic range (1-20% yield loss) for the 2025 growing season for the eastern Pacific Northwest, based on the predication models using the weather data from November 2024 to February 2025. The models predicted highly susceptible varieties to have 18% yield loss with a standard deviation of 9%. ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers The Legislature has completed the seventh week of session. Friday, Feb. 28 was the 47th day of the 105-day session. The focus of the past week was on fiscal and transportation committees working late into the night hearing hundreds of bills with fiscal impacts and holding executive session to pass out ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Feb. 21 marked the first major deadline of the 2025 legislative session when bills must have been voted out of their respective policy committees to still be considered alive for this session. The second deadline is less than a week away on Feb. 28, when bills must be passed out of ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers Feb. 16 marked the 35th day of the legislative session. There is less than a week to go until the first big deadline for policymakers. Feb. 21 is the deadline for when all bills must have advanced out of their policy committee, or else they are likely dead for the session. ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen Lobbyist, Washington Association of Wheat Growers We have completed the fourth week of the 2025 Washington State Legislative Session. Feb. 8 marked day 27 of the 105-day session. Committee hearings were the prime focus this week, but there was some floor action as well. We are less than two weeks away from our first major deadline — ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Art Douglas admitted his weather forecast isn’t especially ‘rosy’ this year. Easily 60% of the U.S. is under drought, and that’s likely to expand in February through the summer, Douglas told farmers Feb. 4 at the Spokane Ag Show. Douglas, professor emeritus at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., first spoke at the ag show during the ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service The statewide temperatures for January were mostly below normal to normal for this time of year, with an area in central Washington having above normal temperatures. Producers in the western region reported freezing temperatures helping raspberry and blueberry plants progress into dormancy. In the central part of the state, little activity was reported in ... Read More »

Have you purchased your floor tile for the Washington Wheat Foundation annex? Money raised for this project will be used for the Ambassador Scholarship program, which grants $4500 and $5000 scholarships to high school students entering their senior year; research equipment grants at WSU; Ag in the Classroom; Northwest Natural Resources Institute; and the Washington FFA foundation. You can find information ... Read More »