PALOUSE, Wash. -- There were a lot of tears in Garfield-Palouse High School when Buddy Carter announced his plans to retire this summer.
"From both sides," Carter said, noting he told his students before he told anybody else.
Carter, who turns 64 in July, has served as Garfield-Palouse FFA advis ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 8:44 AM
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. -- A farm with a history of exclusion has become a model of collaboration among farmers, nonprofit groups and a city.
The Suyematsu family, which founded the 40-acre farm in 1928, was one of 35 families who helped Bainbridge Island earn the title of Berry Capital of the ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 1:06 PM
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- A federal judge has ruled that a class of more than 650 farm workers should have had information about wages and other job conditions disclosed to them by the company that hired them.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice of Spokane ruled Monday that N.W. Management and Realty S ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 7:54 AM
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) -- Cars and trucks are rolling again across the Interstate 5 Skagit River bridge, restoring the traffic flow on the main route between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
A temporary span opened Wednesday morning, replacing a section of the bridge that collapsed May 23 when it was ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 10:55 AM
Washington State University is celebrating 50 years of commercial potato seed lot trials and its longstanding partnership with the Washington State Potato Commission.
The WSU potato field day begins at 8:30 a.m. June 27 at the WSU Othello Research Center at 1471 W. Cox Road, Othello.
WSU Extensi ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 8:34 AM
Derek Davenport of Kennewick will begin serving a three-year term as the newest member of the Washington State Potato Commission on July 1.
Davenport fills an open at-large position on the commission. He is general manager for Allied Potato Northwest, Inc., in Pasco.
In a press release, Davenpor ...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 8:24 AM
National Potato Council leaders will determine their organization's next direction during the summer meeting, June 26-28 in Walla Walla, Wash.
Council CEO John Keeling said the mid-year meeting allows growers to get together and make adjustments to policy issues the council is working on, an ...
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 9:42 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. -- Stemilt Growers Inc. dedicated a new, state-of-the-art cherry packing line in Wenatchee on June 14, enabling it to sort and size cherries faster and more accurately to save growers money.
The heart of the system are two, GP Graders, manufactured in Victoria, Australia. Each re ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 9:30 AM
PUYALLUP, Wash. -- Strawberries of many sizes, shapes, colors -- and levels of sweetness -- are the focus of research at a farm east of Puyallup.
Patrick Moore, a small fruit breeder and geneticist for Washington State University Extension, said he's working with 50 experimental cultivars this ye ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 10:21 AM
OLYMPIA -- The Washington Legislature opened an extra special session June 12 for the sixth time in the past 20 years.
Legislators have 19 days to finalize a budget before the beginning of new two-year budget cycle. If no budget is approved by June 30, state agencies and school districts will lik ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 10:21 AM
Representatives of three Spokane area agricultural companies shared their stories with local business leaders during a recent forum.
Tom Stachecki of Angus Meats, Craig Higashi of Spokane Produce and Mike Conway of Latah Creek Wine Cellars spoke during a program put on by Greater Spokane Inc., th ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 10:41 AM
PUYALLUP, Wash. -- While walking through the strawberry research plots east of Puyallup, Sue Welch came upon an oddly shaped specimen.
As plant services specialist for the Washington State Department of Agriculture, she had seen many fruits and vegetables, but this one was new to her.
A bite rev ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 10:21 AM
Dying Douglas fir trees bear witness to the drought that hit Western Washington last summer.
Trees between 5 and 15 years old appear to be the most commonly affected, but some larger trees also show symptoms, including entirely red crowns, red tops and red branches.
Glenn Kohler, forest entomolo ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 10:01 AM
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- West Nile virus has turned up in two samples of mosquitoes collected in Yakima County.
The state Health Department says the virus turned up almost a month earlier than in previous years.
The virus is spread by mosquito bites, so people are advised to wear insect repellan ...
Monday, June 17, 2013 9:51 AM
WENATCHEE, Wash. — Stemilt Growers Inc. dedicated a new, state-of-the-art cherry packing line in Wenatchee on June 14, enabling it to sort and size cherries faster and more accurately to save growers money.
The heart of the system are two, GP Graders, manufactured in Victoria, Australia. E ...
Friday, June 14, 2013 9:17 PM
As United Farm Workers of America and other groups step up public lobbying for the Senate immigration reform bill, a lead lobbyist for agriculture says chances of its passage in the Senate are good but just 50-50 in the House.
The Senate likely will pass its bill by the Fourth of July but wheth ...
Friday, June 14, 2013 10:05 AM
YAKIMA, Wash. -- A tree fruit varieties management company in Yakima has announced an agreement with Stemilt Growers Inc., Wenatchee, and Chelan Fresh Marketing, Chelan, to commercialize red-flesh apples to be grown in Washington.
Proprietary Variety Management has tested two unnamed varieties of ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:34 PM
USDA investigators have taken samples from more than one seed dealer as part of a probe to discover the source of unauthorized genetically modified wheat discovered in a northeast Oregon field.
Ed Curlett, public affairs director for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, confirmed ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 9:33 AM
LIND, Wash. -- The Pacific Northwest grain industry plans to apply pressure on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to provide answers to the many questions surrounding the discovery of genetically modified wheat in a single Oregon field.
Tom Zwainz, chair of the Washington Grain C ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:54 PM
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University scientists have sequenced four new Rosaceae crop family genomes and are releasing that information to help breeders aim for better fruit.
The four are the Comice pear, a French strain of Golden Delicious apple, the Stella self-pollinating sweet cherry ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 9:03 AM
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Slim pickings of early cherry varieties in Central Washington are finishing and California's cherry harvest is done, so a 10-day gap in supply will challenge marketers, says the president of an industry trade organization.
"The prevalence of California cherries in the market was ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:34 PM
LIND, Wash. -- Researchers say growers may want to weigh the benefits of applying biosolids -- treated Seattle sewage -- as fertilizer on their fields.
Washington State University soil scientist Craig Cogger, based in Puyallup, has researched the use of biosolids for 20 years, including on drylan ...
Thursday, June 13, 2013 5:04 PM
USDA investigators have taken samples from a Washington wheat seed supplier and some of its customers in the ongoing probe into the source of unauthorized genetically modified wheat found in an Oregon field.
Chris Peha, general manager of Northwest Grain Growers in Walla Walla, said USDA invest ...
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:01 AM
CENTERVILLE, Wash. -- Two farmers in Klickitat County have opened a state-licensed slaughter facility for poultry, rabbits and fowl to serve south central Washington and north central Oregon.
Renee Kreinbring owns Gateway Farm near Centerville about nine miles southwest of Goldendale. Mary Wils ...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 10:30 AM
Washington State University officials have sent a letter to farmers with several recommendations on the possibility of finding genetically modified wheat.
If farmers observe wheat plants surviving a glyphosate treatment they should make a second spot application to the plants, said Jim Moyer, asso ...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 10:41 AM
CHEHALIS, Wash. -- After 10 years as executive director of the Washington Farm Forestry Association, Rick Dunning says he will retire July 1 to take care of four F's: "Family, farm, faith and friends -- and fishing. That makes five."
He has been offered other positions, but he has sworn to make n ...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:35 AM