By Diana Carlen WAWG Lobbyist On Jan. 13, 2020, the Washington State Legislature will convene in Olympia for a 60-day “short session.” The main task of legislators will be to pass supplemental budgets for the operating, transportation and capital budgets. The supplemental budgets are generally minor adjustments to the biennial budgets (passed in the 2019 “long session”) based on updated ... Read More »
From the Tri-City Herald Breaching the Snake River dams is a divisive proposal — we’ve known that for decades. So why did the state need to spend $750,000 to tell us what we already know? That’s the three-quarter-million-dollar question. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
A draft report on the impacts of breaching the lower Snake River dams, which was commissioned by the Governor’s Office last year, has been released and is open for public comment. The report can be accessed at lsrdstakeholderprocess.org. Directions for submitting comments, either electronically or by mail, are included on the website. Public comments will be accepted through Jan. 24. ... Read More »
High yields in Eastern Washington scuttle farm bill payments for last year’s crop By Trista Crossley The Washington state Farm Service Agency (FSA) office has confirmed that thanks to high yields, Eastern Washington wheat growers who elected the Agriculture Risk Coverage County option (ARC-Co) will not be receiving a payment for their 2018 wheat crop. Only five Washington counties qualified ... Read More »
WAWG is looking for volunteers to attend Olympia Days Jan. 20-22, 2020. We will be making a large number of appointments with various legislators and need county representation to make our meetings effective with clear messaging. Talking points are provided and all meetings have at least 2 grower members and/or staff. Please RSVP to Lori (lori@wawg.org) ASAP so that we ... Read More »
From the USDA Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opening signup for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) on Dec. 9, 2019. The deadline for agricultural producers to sign up for general CRP is Feb. 28, 2020, while signup for continuous CRP is ongoing. Farmers and ranchers who enroll in CRP receive a yearly rental ... Read More »
From the Capital Press Maia Bellon, the director of Washington’s Department of Ecology, has announced her plans to step down at the end of the year. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »
By Trista Crossley While there was much talk of trade during the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, the importance of the Columbia-Snake River System was also on growers’ minds. Kristin Meira, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, gave a break-out session on the important role the river system plays in shipping products to market. She said lots of ... Read More »
For Washington wheat growers, the 2019 Tri-State Grain Growers Convention was back on their home turf, taking place last month in Spokane at the Davenport Grand Hotel. Approximately 500 growers, agency representatives and industry supporters gathered to hear top notch speakers; establish guidance on industry concerns; and learn the latest on herbicide resistance, 2018 Farm Bill programs and other topics ... Read More »
From NASS There were 4.0 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 5.7 days suitable the previous week. The season was basically over for fall work in most counties, although harvesting of unflooded fall crops continued in Snohomish County, and some corn had not been harvested in Columbia and Walla Walla counties. Typical fall conditions of rain ... Read More »
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