agriculture
A third Democrat joins contest for western Washington congressional seat
Jefferson County Commissioner Kate Dean kicked off a bid for Congress on Tuesday, becoming the third Democrat in the hunt to replace U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer when he retires next year. Dean, who is in her second term on the three-person commission, is a 25-year county resident and has co-founded three businesses – Old Tarboo […]
Crime, taxes and artificial intelligence on tap as WA lawmakers prep for session
Rising costs of transportation projects. Using artificial intelligence in Washington classrooms. Preserving affordable housing. Spending proceeds from the state’s new capital gains tax and recent cap-and-trade auctions. Those are a few topics state lawmakers will delve into when they return to Olympia for committee days, an annual fete in which they get schooled on issues […]
Oregon and Washington fruit packers vote to unionize fails
This article was first published by the Oregon Capital Chronicle. One of the first and largest attempts to unionize fruit packers in the region in recent years has failed. A total of 328 employees of Washington-based Mount Adams Fruit voted Monday and Tuesday on unionizing with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000. About […]
Tears in our beer: Climate change could hurt beer drinkers
This article was first published by the Daily Montanan. Climate change may be very bad news for beer drinkers. A new report in the journal Nature Communications shows that climate change is responsible for the decrease in quantity and quality of hops produced in Europe. And that trend is projected to continue as climate change is […]
Hundreds of fruit packers in Washington and Oregon take union vote this week
More than 350 apple, pear and cherry packers at three facilities in Washington and Oregon will decide this week whether to unionize. It’s among the first and largest unionization efforts among fruit packers in the region in years, according to Kristina Storm, director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 3000, the union that employees […]
Biden launches ‘Investing in Rural America’ push
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and administration officials are kicking off an “Investing in Rural America” event series, starting with a visit to a Minnesota farm Wednesday to announce nearly $5 billion for conservation, economic development and “climate smart” agriculture. Biden, who is running for reelection in 2024, has been highlighting what the administration calls […]
America’s farmers are getting older, and young people aren’t rushing to join them
On Oct. 12, National Farmers’ Day, Americans honor the hardworking people who keep the world fed and clothed. But the farming labor force has a problem: It’s aging rapidly. The average American farmer is 57 and a half years old, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That’s up sharply […]
As consumers flock to organic foods, lawmakers urge more federal grants for farmers
WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers are pushing a bill that would boost support for organic farmers amid rising demand for their products. U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Angus King of Maine in the Senate, alongside U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine and Annie Kuster of New Hampshire in the House, introduced the Organic Market Development […]
India’s tariffs on U.S. apples come to an end, a plus for Washington growers
India lifted retaliatory tariffs Wednesday on imported U.S. apples and other crops that are important to Washington state, according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office. The country was a sizable foreign export market for Washington apples, with $120 million worth of the fruit sent there in 2017. But in 2019, after the Trump administration imposed […]
Food aid shipment departs Washington amid threats to program in Congress
A shipment of American-grown wheat departed the Port of Longview for the Middle East this week, the latest delivery from Washington through the nation’s vaunted Food for Peace program. But those on hand Tuesday to celebrate as the Liberty Glory embarked carrying 28,000 metric tons of grain, said future deliveries are endangered because some members […]
USDA’s climate grants for farms and forests run into Republican buzzsaw
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is spending more than $3 billion to cultivate more American farmers and forest landowners as partners to mitigate climate change — even while some Republicans on Capitol Hill try to stop the program entirely. The administration launched a new farm program, Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities, this year. It is the […]
U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America in Oregon visit
PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]