OLYMPIA — Exempting Washington farmers from paying overtime wages has a racist history and undoing its legacy won't be "easy or cheap," a Seattle senator said in an email to other senators Wednesday.
FFA members should devote one hour per week to advocating for agriculture as part of their college and business career path, a longtime forester says.
The Capital Press is working on a story about rural restaurant closures across California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho during the pandemic.
Wheat farmers this year won't have a clear-cut choice between which federal crop insurance program will work best for them in the 2021-2022 marketing year, a small grains economist at Washingt…
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A case spawned by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee's opposition to removing river gravel to protect farmland went to an appeals court Tuesday, one of two lawsuits alleging Inslee uses his veto pen t…
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A Walla Walla County blueberry farm has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle claims that it failed to stop a supervisor from sexually harassing and assaulting female farmworkers.
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STATELINE, Nev. (AP) — Researchers at Lake Tahoe are using tiny bubbles to combat the spread of invasive weeds that rob the alpine lake of its clarity.
The Biden administration has announced it will delay a controversial rollback of critical habitat protections for the northern spotted owl in Oregon, Washington and Northern California in orde…
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
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The Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday killed a proposal that would have penalized Washington farmers who hired foreign workers, passing instead a bill to encourage better housing for a…
OLYMPIA — The Senate budget committee Friday narrowly approved a bill to create an unelected council to advise seven state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, on incorporating e…
A Washington nonprofit is forming a cooperative for Black, Indigenous and other farmers of color.
AP
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Three major mountain passes in Washington state were closed overnight due to avalanche dangers after heavy rain fell on a large snowpack from recent storms, state transpo…
An ongoing La Nina enhances chances that late winter and early spring in Washington will be cool and wet, the federal Climate Prediction Center forecasted Thursday.
Washington wheat growers will be monitoring their crops closely following a mid-February cold snap that brought low temperatures, wind and snow to the eastern portion of the state.
Ongoing challenges include demand, port backlogs, glut of European product.
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Washington House Democrats are again moving to adopt a low-carbon fuel standard, and farm groups continue to be among those pushing back.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The earthquake early warning system known as ShakeAlert will be capable of delivering alerts directly to wireless devices in Oregon on March 11 and to Washington state in Ma…
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Plans to reopen Oregon's second-largest dairy remain unchanged, despite the new owners — a prominent farm family based in southeast Washington — facing allegations of fraud by Tyson Foods.
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Two Thurston County farmers petitioned the Washington Supreme Court on Tuesday, claiming the State Conservation Commission should pay for taking a shortcut to remove them as conservation distr…
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The Senate labor committee Monday passed a bill calling on every farm employer in Washington to go back three years and pay workers time-and-a-half for overtime.
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SEATTLE (AP) — A winter storm that blanketed the Pacific Northwest with ice and snow is causing lingering problems Monday, with hundreds of thousands of people in Oregon still in the dark afte…
The show includes interactive exhibitor booths, equipment demonstrations, educational seminars, networking lounge and more.
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OLYMPIA — Farm groups are lobbying to amend a capital gains tax proposal, hoping to head off a tax hit for cattlemen and retired farmers.
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Legislation to give all Washington farmworkers overtime pay and compensate them for back wages, while giving producers a defense from multi-million-dollar lawsuits emerged Friday afternoon.
When COVID-19 hit, Peyton Curtis came home to the ranch.
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Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz said Thursday that she expects lawmakers will tap more than one source of money to fund a two-year, $125 million plan to reduce the risk of wildfires.
Experts say better soil health will in the future drive increases in crop yields as much as advances like new seed hybrids and fertilizers. And making sure soil stays healthy bodes well for a …
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Washington farmers could get protection from overtime lawsuits, but only if farm groups negotiate "appropriate living wages" for farmworkers, under a bill introduced Wednesday in the House.
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The Washington State Conservation Commission used the wrong law to remove two farmers from the Thurston Conservation District board, though it doesn't matter, according to a court decision Tuesday.
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Senate Bill 5396 would raise taxes on building or repairing farmworker housing if any bed is occupied by a guestworker in the U.S. on a H-2A visa.
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With council oversight, agencies would be required to implement recommendations in a recent report by a legislative task force.
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Under House Bill 1076, private parties could pursue in court allegations that the Washington Department of Labor and Industries declined to investigate.
Work will begin this spring at the first research site for Washington State University’s soil health initiative, but future funding for the project remains in question, a research leader says.
An Eastern Washington crop duster has been fined $7,000 and had his license suspended for five days for an aerial application that exposed at least 45 farmworkers to pesticides last summer.
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Washington House Democrats are advancing a bill requiring public works projects to benefit salmon and have a "net ecological gain," a vague standard the Farm Bureau warns could spread to private land.
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MALDEN, Wash. (AP) — Five months after a wildfire destroyed the adjacent towns of Malden and Pine City, President Joe Biden has approved federal aid for the towns and for other areas in Easter…
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SEATTLE (AP) — Two grocery industry trade groups have filed a lawsuit against the city of Seattle over its new law mandating $4 an hour pay raises for grocery stores.
The U.S. potato domestic market is "weakened" but recovering. Demand took a hit due to competition from the European Union and the pandemic, but is expected to recover in the 2022 marketing ye…
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Pacific Northwest farmers are forming an association to promote the little-known vegetable.
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Legislation to help honey bees and other pollinators stresses habitat and education, while steering clear of neonicotinoids and parasitic varroa mites.
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The Biden administration's push for more electric vehicles could impact the nation's petroleum oil industry, biofuel producers and corn growers.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the potato industry faced a "staggering" backlog, industry leaders say. All excess potatoes have found a home, and stakeholders worked together to request…
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Easterday Farms has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid allegations the Eastern Washington ranch and beef supplier bilked Tyson Foods out of $225 million by submitting fake invoice…
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The Washington Farm Bureau and WAFLA are suing the Inslee administration, seeking to invalidate COVID-related housing rules for farmworkers.
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Senate Bill 5396, sponsored by Sens. Liz Lovelett, D-Anacortes, and Rebecca Saldaña, D-Seattle, targets a program that critics claim displaces U.S. workers.
The first SoilCon is next week, and organizers hope it becomes an annual conference devoted to soil health.
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The pesticide and fertilizer fees are paid by hundreds of product makers, distributors and applicators. The fees support separate state Department of Agriculture programs.
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Tyson Foods is suing an Eastern Washington beef supplier for allegedly defrauding the company out of more than $225 million by falsifying records and submitting fake invoices for more than 200…
A Washington fruit company said Thursday it will challenge a $156,000 fine levied by the state Department of Labor and Industries for allegedly not enforcing mask and social distancing rules f…
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OLYMPIA — Several Washington farmers testified on Jan. 28 they could be bankrupted by lawsuits seeking back wages for workers after the state Supreme Court granted farmworkers overtime pay.
The Washington Winegrowers Association will host its annual convention virtually this year during the pandemic.
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A clash in sunny Central Washington between a county and a state body has inspired legislation to let county officials decide whether solar panels will cover farmland.
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Washington farm groups are asking state lawmakers to help agriculture employers fend off lawsuits that retroactively seek overtime pay for farmworkers.
A Washington State University expert calls a new pesticide control for wireworms a 'game-changer.' Farmers haven't had an effective treatment for the pest since 2007, leaders say.
