State

From the Capital Press Democrats are keeping alive proposals to raise property taxes and taxes on most real estate sales as House and Senate budget writers negotiate an operating budget before the session ends Sunday. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »

From NASS There were 5.4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 5.1 days last week. Central Washington had an active weather week. It rained and snowed for a few days, and temperatures were colder than usual. Grass was still not growing and was now about three weeks behind due to the late snow and cool temperatures. Cattlemen turned ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist April 16 marked the 98th day of the legislative session. Just seven days remain in the 2023 Legislative Session. April 12 was the deadline to pass bills from the opposite chamber, except for budgets and bills necessary to implement the budget. Over the next week, the Legislature will continue to focus on reconciling differences between ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist We have completed the 13th week of the legislative session. Last Tuesday was the fiscal committee cutoff, the last day for bills to have been approved by their respective fiscal committee in the opposite chamber unless “necessary to implement the budget.” Only 14 days remain in the 2023 Legislative Session. There will be little committee ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.1 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 4.1 days last week. In western Washington, producers completed some fieldwork between rain showers. In San Juan County, moisture levels were slightly below previous years, but cold conditions slowed fieldwork and grass growth. Central Washington continued to see cold temperatures and had some rainfall. Temperatures warmed up ... Read More »

From the Capital Press There’s something fishy about the “mediation” taking place at the White House. This mediation, which is held in secret, is an effort by the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to come up with a plan for the four lower Snake River dams. Read the rest of the article ... Read More »

The signup for the general Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) that started Feb. 27 will end on April 7, 2023. Producers interested in offering new land for CRP or to re-enroll land that is scheduled to expire this fall, may submit an offer in this signup. By April 7, at least one eligible producer on the farm must sign the worksheet ... Read More »

From NASS There were 4 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington. Central Washington had a very cold start to spring. Very little precipitation fell since the year began, and ranchers were not able to turn their livestock out because the grass was not growing. Some spraying occurred to prepare for spring seeding. In Okanogan County, only the orchardists were out ... Read More »

By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist The Washington State Legislature has completed the 12th week of the legislative session. Friday marked the 84th day of the 2023 Legislative Session. There are 22 days left of the scheduled legislative session. The fourth legislative deadline has come and gone — bills needed to have been approved by their respective policy committees by Wednesday, ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) has announced appointees who will serve on the Washington FSA state committee. Members of the FSA state committee are appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and are responsible for the oversight of farm programs and county committee operations, resolving program delivery appeals from the agriculture community, maintaining cooperative relations ... Read More »