State

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 5.5 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6 days the previous week. In western Washington, the weather began to warm up and was ideal for planting. Producers were busy getting their new grass and corn plantings in. Central Washington had rain at the beginning of the week in some areas ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service Based on May 1, 2024 conditions, production of winter wheat in Washington was forecast at 117 million bushels, up 24% from 2023. Yield was expected to average 65 bushels per acre, up 11 bushels from last year. Harvested acres were forecast at 1.80 million acres, up 50,000 acres from 2023. In Idaho, production was ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington (NRCS) has opened a second batching period for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Only applications eligible for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds will be batched and ranked during this batching period. Producers interested in applying this round need to do so by June 6, 2024. The IRA provides ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 6.7 days the previous week. Western Washington received excess moisture over the past week. Central Washington had cool temperatures for this time of the year, which slowed pasture growth. In northeast Washington, mornings of heavy frost and afternoons of showers had slowed spring ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 6.7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, down from 7 days the previous week. Areas of western Washington saw rain that helped improve the soil profile. Central Washington had continued cool, dry weather. In Douglas County, intermittent rain showers provided moisture but interfered with weed spraying. In Yakima County, a few varieties ... Read More »

By Xianming Chen USDA Research Plant Pathologist On April 24, when we were planting spring wheat nurseries at the Palouse Conservation Farm Station near Pullman in Whitman County, I was checking our winter wheat nurseries. Plants had reached middle jointing stage (Feekes 6), and stripe rust was more widespread than the last report, with almost all susceptible check rows having ... Read More »

From crosscut.com Andy Juris, a dryland wheat and alfalfa grower in Bickleton, in Klickitat County, knows precisely how much fertilizer to put on different areas of his farm. Juris needs to ensure he uses the right amount of fertilizer. Too much can damage the plant, but not enough may prevent full development. But Juris says the proper use of fertilizers also ... Read More »

From Water Power Magazine By Kurt Miller Northwest Public Power Association For the past five years, I’ve worked as a hydropower advocate, which has given me some great opportunities. For instance, I was a keynote speaker at the Hydropower International Conference in 2022 and CEATI’s Hydropower Conference in 2023. I even graced the January 2023 cover of Hydro Leader Magazine. ... Read More »

From the National Agricultural Statistics Service There were 7 days suitable for fieldwork in Washington, up from 6.7 days the previous week. Some areas of western Washington experienced dry conditions. Central Washington experienced high winds that dried out the topsoil and caused grasses to start heading out. In Yakima County, there was no precipitation over the past week. The upper ... Read More »

From the Capital Press The potential removal of the lower Snake River dams would have “far-reaching impacts” beyond the Pacific Northwest, according to the leader of a national inland waterways advocacy group. Read the rest of the article here. Read More »