May 21, 2021
The Washington state Department of Labor and Industries is creating a new team aimed at improving farmworker safety. When fully staffed, the agriculture compliance unit will create 16 new positions, the Yakima Herald reported. Thirteen of those posts will focus …
May 19, 2021
The water crisis along the California-Oregon border went from dire to catastrophic this week as federal regulators shut off irrigation water to farmers from a critical reservoir and said they would not send extra water to dying salmon downstream or …
May 13, 2021
A Willamette Valley, Ore., grass seed dealer accused of mislabeling over 8 million pounds of seed will pay $300,000 in a settlement with Oregon state agriculture officials. Dynamic Seed Source LLC and owner Trevor Abbott have agreed to pay the …
April 5, 2021
Arizona officials are putting farmers in south-central Arizona on notice that the continuing drought means a “substantial cut” in deliveries of Colorado River water is expected next year. A joint statement issued Friday by the state Department of Water Resources …
March 16, 2021
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced that small non-farm businesses in all 15 counties in Arizona may apply for low-interest federal disaster loans to offset economic losses from drought. Eligibility includes businesses directly affected by the disaster as well …
February 24, 2021
More vaccines are headed to California’s vast Central Valley, an agricultural region whose workers and residents have been hard hit by coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. The multi-county region, which includes the cities of Fresno and Bakersfield, will get …
February 4, 2021
Two farm groups are suing the state of Washington for failing to revise emergency regulations that seek to protect migrant farmworkers from the COVID-19 virus. The groups filed the lawsuit this week in Yakima County Superior Court. It seeks to …
January 6, 2021
U.S. officials have released a new plan involving methods to deal with a microscopic pest in southeastern Idaho that threatens the state’s billion-dollar industry that supplies a third of the nation’s potatoes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture late last week …
December 30, 2020
An annual report made public by the Montana Department of Labor and Industry has shown that 2019 was slightly more deadly than the previous year in workplaces, with farming the most dangerous industry. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries released …
November 13, 2020
Harvest season in Northern California’s wine country is what dream weddings are made of: ripe grapevines and golden sunsets provide ceremonies an alluring backdrop that every year draws millions of visitors. But harvest season now overlaps with fire season as …