State

From NASS There were 5.9 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, up slightly from 5.8 the previous week. There was rainfall early in the week followed by sunshine and warmer temperatures. Good planting progress was reported statewide. In western Washington, rainfall was followed by three days of record-breaking temperatures in the mid 80s, allowing quite a bit of ... Read More »

Last week, WAWG’s AMMO program partnered with NRCS to host a webinar, covering topics of timelines, the new ranking tool, changes to CSP and EQIP, eligibility requirements, payment schedules, and more. A recording of the link can be found HERE. We apologize for the sound quality, it does improve a few minutes in. Presentation materials can be found HERE. We ... Read More »

From Dr. Xianming Chen Today, I was checking stripe rust in our winter wheat experimental fields around Pullman (Whitman County in Washington), and found stripe rust on susceptible check varieties in two of the three locations. This is the first observation of stripe rust of this season in the Palouse region. The same fields were checked on April 22 and ... Read More »

From NASS There were 5.8 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.1 the previous week. Intermittent rainfall from a series of low pressure systems passed through the state and brought much needed rainfall. Crop producers wrapped up seeding spring grains and made good progress planting row crops ahead of the much needed rainfall. Along the coast, ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service Washington is estimated to have 2.22 million total acres planted to wheat in 2020, down 2 percent from last year. Winter wheat planted acres are expected to total 1.70 million acres for this year, down 3 percent from 2019. Spring wheat acres planted are estimated at 520,000 acres, up 2 percent from last year.  ... Read More »

From NASS There were 6.1 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington last week, down from 6.5 the previous week. In Western Washington, soil conditions improved, but most soils were too wet. The newly planted grass and grains were emerging well and looked good. Livestock were on pasture rotations. Fruit trees had very high levels of bloom. Caneberries came out with ... Read More »

It’s not only farmers who need to get on with the business of growing their crops during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many state and federal agencies that farmers rely on are also still doing business, albeit from a distance. We reached out to some of those agencies to find out what’s going on. Farm Service Agency (FSA). Like most U.S. Department ... Read More »

By Dr. Xianming Chen Tuesday, I was checking wheat fields in Whitman, Adams, Lincoln, Grant and Douglas counties in Washington. Winter wheat ranged from Feekes 4 to 7. Minor frost damage on leaf tips was common in Whitman County, caused by freezing night temperatures of the last week. Stripe rust was found only in one commercial field in Lincoln County. ... Read More »

The next deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) classic applications to be considered for funding this fiscal year is May 29, 2020. Through CSP, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) helps farmers, ranchers and forest landowners earn payments for expanding conservation activities while maintaining agricultural production on their land. CSP also encourages adoption of new technologies and management techniques. “CSP ... Read More »

From the Capital Press Transportation advocates are backing a campaign to ensure information about the Columbia-Snake River system continues to reach Pacific Northwest residents and decision-makers. Read the article here. Read More »