Oregon State University has established what it considers to be the nation's largest hemp research center. This comes amid a surge of farmer interest in the Northwest to grow the non-psychoactive cousin of marijuana. Continue Read More
American soil. Those are two words that are commonly used to stir up patriotic feelings. They are also words that can't be be taken for granted, because today nearly 30 million acres of U.S. farmland are held by foreign investors. That number has doubled in the past two decades, which is raising alarm bells in farming communities. Read More
A couple of federal agencies you probably haven't heard of keep track of what farmers grow, what Americans eat and how the country's entire food system operates. And the Trump administration wants them out of Washington, D.C. Read More
Growers in Washington, California and Michigan raise the majority of the nation’s domestic asparagus -- and Washington’s season is on. But business in U.S. spears is noticeably dwindling due to cheaper competition from foreign markets.That’s because there’s increasing amounts of cheaper asparagus from Peru and Mexico coming in: fresh, canned and frozen. And that’s Read More
Several major crops in Oregon and Washington are significantly delayed from foul winter weather and a cool spring. Wheat farmers are having trouble planting in the wet ground. Potatoes are still being planted a month late. And fruit tree buds are developing slowly. Read More
Researchers found that corn production accounts for 4,300 premature deaths related to air pollution every year. Ammonia from fertilizer application was by far the largest contributor to corn's air pollution footprint. Continue Reading Study Says Read More
Farmers aren't producing enough to keep up with the number of smaller markets that keep popping up, often in close proximity to others. This results in fewer customers, unsold food and maybe closure. Continue Reading Market Saturation: Why So Many Read More
One of the country’s most widely-used herbicides could be linked to an increase in early deaths from Parkinson’s disease for people who live near farmlands, according to new research in Washington. Continue Read More
The U.S. Senate Tuesday passed a sweeping public lands bill, with measures meant to protect lands across the country. It’s expected to have a big impact on Washington’s lands, rivers and more. Continue Reading Sweeping Public Lands Bill Would Read More
For six years, Yakima County has been dealing with a complicated problem – nitrates in the groundwater. This month, after missing two other deadlines, a group of citizens tasked with finding a solution finally came up with a plan. For about 2,000 people, that’s good news because they’re closer to clean water. But some critics aren’t so sure. Read More
More people than expected are drinking water that could be harmful to their health. That’s according to a new study that looked at a water contaminate that’s been an issue in one of the Northwest’s most productive farming regions. Continue Read More
As drought has deepened across the West, much attention is paid to a colorful map that shows the hardest-hit areas. The scientists who update the map each week face enormous pressure to get it right. Continue Reading Across The West, Read More
Farmers who grow pulse crops -- garbanzo beans, lentils and peas -- are in a bind this winter. They have to decide very soon what they’re planting for next year, and contract their seed. Pulse crops are often an important rotation crop for Western wheat growers. But there are record amounts of garbanzo beans in dry storage, and little movement of that heavily-exported Read More
For six years, Yakima County has been dealing with a complicated problem – nitrates in the groundwater. This month, after missing two other deadlines, a group of citizens tasked with finding a solution finally came up with a plan. For about 2,000 people, that’s good news because they’re closer to clean water. But some critics aren’t so sure. Read More
The chemical’s especially dangerous for babies and small children because it can have lasting neurological effects. Chlorpyrifos can blow from orchards into nearby houses; parents who work in orchards can transport the chemical home on their clothes and in their cars; and chlorpyrifos can make its way into developing fetuses through umbilical cord blood. Read More
Ranchers and farmers living in the Mountain West are vulnerable to all kinds of things—drought, fluctuating crop prices, trade wars—and in part because of those things - depression and suicide. But there's some help out there, from an unlikely source: Twitter. Read More
A new five-year federal Farm Bill that could get a vote from the House and Senate next week contains a provision to fully legalize hemp production in the U.S. Northwest hemp entrepreneurs who have been operating under restrictive state laws are excited by the possibility. Read More
Bees exposed to a type of insecticides called neonicotinoids dramatically changed their behavior — becoming sluggish, antisocial and spending less time caring for the colony's young, researchers say. Continue Reading Study: A Read More
Newly published research predicting beer prices could double as rising global temperatures and more volatile weather cause shortages of barley created a big splash. But brewers and barley growers say you shouldn't drown your sorrows just yet: They have a plan. Read More
Heraclio Delacruz is a Peruvian sheepherder, in Spanish what’s called a “pastor.” This is his 18th year with the Martinez family sheepherding operation in Central Washington. " ... you’re alone, with your friends the dogs, the braying sheep," he says. Read More
In late September, the Martinez brothers moved about half of those 800 sheep from the mountainous terrain around Lake Wenatchee to the irrigated, emerald pastures of Connell, in Central Washington. They did it with the help of some highly skilled men: Peruvian “pastores” or sheepherders. All the way from South America, most of them have been with the Martinez family for Read More
It’s September, so the hops harvest is in full swing in Washington’s Yakima Valley. At the Carpenter family’s farm in Granger, workers are making their way between rows of trellises, pulling down vines and feeding them into a sorting machine. Continue Read More
Once upon a time when Seattle was smaller, orchards dotted the shores of Lake Washington. Today, many of those old apple, plum and fig trees still thrive within urban neighborhoods. And every year around this time, they surprise new property owners—who may never have lived with fruit trees before—with chores they don’t know how to… Read More
Consider this year’s apples: Born from the seeds of an earlier generation’s trees, the fruit you hold in your hand this fall will allow you “to shake hands with a good friend over the centuries.” That’s how the composer and antiquarian Gerald Finzi put it. As your apples ripen, with the sweet strains of classical music… Read More
Some winemakers are calling it the “beerification” of wine. Many Northwest winemakers are trying to make wine a little less fussy by putting it in aluminum cans. Continue Reading The ‘Beerification’ Of Northwest Wine: Putting It In Less-Fussy Read More
Climate change might lead to bigger populations of hungrier insects. This could have serious consequences for grain-growing regions in the Northwest and across the world. Continue Reading Insects Could Eat Twice As Much Wheat By The End Of The Read More
Smoke from wildfires is blanketing much of the West. That's ruining some crops and may be stunting others. And it's making it difficult or unsafe for laborers to pick the harvest. Continue Reading As Wildfires Burn, Smoke Chokes Read More
Trade was at the forefront of the conversation with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue July 2 in Spokane. Perdue said President Donald Trump has assured him “he’s not going to allow agricultural producers to bear the brunt of trade disruptions” with China, Canada or Mexico—countries Perdue calls “the big three” for U.S. international trade. Read More
Walla Walla County might just be the only place on Earth where you have to brake for bees. Continue Reading Native Bees And Alfalfa Seeds: A Northwest Love StoryRead More
U.S. beef ranchers who voted heartily for President Donald Trump are getting a bit skittish about his trade wars. International tariffs are set to hit U.S. beef the first week of July. Continue Reading Northwest Ranchers Have Read More
The housing shortage in Yakima is coupled with a farm labor shortage. When workers do come, where do they live? The largest farmworker complex in the state opened in Yakima this month. The revamped FairBridge hotel now hosts 800 beds for temporary farm workers. As it opens, critics think it may set a dangerous precedent: Other farmers might start buying up area housing for Read More
Lost Valley Farm, based in Boardman, is Oregon’s second largest dairy. It’s faced opposition from the beginning. Environmental groups worried about the risk of liquid manure and wastewater pollution that leaking out of storage areas. Continue Read More
Honey bees are struggling with habitat loss, colony collapse disorder, and other challenges. One Northwest beekeeper is rethinking the kinds of bees we use to pollinate crops in the first place. Continue Reading Could Blue Bees Be Better For Northwest Crops?Read More
The program practices tough love — Hawaiians call it kuleana, or a sense of personal responsibility. Kids commit to more than two years of work, and get free college tuition for their "sweat equity." Continue Reading Youth Farm In Hawaii Is Growing Read More
With China threatening to slap the United States with $3 billion in retaliatory tariffs, one group that is worried is Washington apple farmers. Continue Reading Washington Apple Growers Fret Over Possible Chinese TariffsRead More
Independent Lens Presents “Dolores” on KTNW-TV One of the most important, yet least known, activists of our time, Dolores Huerta was an equal partner in founding the first farm workers union with César Chávez. Fighting for racial and labor justice, Huerta evolved into one of the most defiant feminists of the 20th century and she continues… Read More
East of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon -- it’s been about 5 to 10 degrees warmer than normal for most of the winter. And those usually warm conditions have buds on fruit trees and grapevines starting to “push,” or emerge early. That has farmers worried. Read More
Nowadays the vast fields of grain in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and north Idaho feed the world. But once upon a time—1825 to be exact—the first crop of wheat in the Northwest was planted at Fort Vancouver. Continue Reading Read More
A Native farmworker in Burlington, Washington, in 2016 Photo credit: Esmy Jimenez Listen If you ate today, thank a farmer. That’s the common thread on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook with the trending hashtag #NationalFarmersDay. The holiday stems from what was called Old Farmer’s Day. It’s celebrated in October because it marks the end… Read More
A center pivot beats above a field with some of eastern Oregon’s dramatic mountain views in the background. ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen Cell phone towers in Oregon’s path of totality are expected to overload. That’s because of selfies-with-the-sun that thousands of visitors might try to upload. But there’s an unexpected consequence… Read More
The end result of careful selection and pollination: an edible apple, in this photo a crimson gala. Photo credit: John Clements Facebook Google+ Twitter Email Anyone who’s tried to plant apple seeds in their backyard was likely disappointed by the results. Fruit that was small, tasted bad, and if it grew at all wasn’t even… Read More
Malus sieversii, the ancient apple, seen here in Kyrgysztan. Sieversii comes in many sizes and colors, but are generally inedible. Photo credit: Creative Commons The apple as we know it – crisp, sweet, and juicy – is a modern invention. It’s a strange way to think of tree fruit, which we often imagine as… Read More
Before robots will begin picking apples, machines like this, which help human pickers do their jobs faster and more easily, will bridge the gap. Right now, your apples are harvested by humans. But Washington may soon face a shortage of apple pickers: as soon as 2021, according to Washington State University economist Karina Gallardo.… Read More
Honeycrisp apples are popular and profitable – but only as long as the quality keeps up. Photo credit: “Andria,” Creative Commons Facebook Google+ Twitter Email The sweet, tart crunch of a Honeycrisp apple is a powerful food experience. It brings taste, smell, and sound together in a single bite. Is it any wonder that… Read More
Asparagus hummus at Black Cypress restaurant in Pullman. The 2016 International Year of the Pulse aims to put more of the crops — chickpeas, lentils, dried peas and beans — onto your table. Photo credit: Courtney Flatt Listen If you’ve ever had chickpeas, lentils, or dry peas and beans, you’ve eaten pulses. Some think… Read More
Brandon Hopkins is a WSU honey bee researcher who developed a method for freezing honey bee semen, allowing for easier bee breeding. Photo credit: Max Bartlett American honey bees don’t do well in winter. It’s a serious problem for beekeepers. They experience their biggest losses during winter – and beekeepers lose about a third… Read More
A honey bee feeds on – and pollinates – an almond blossom at a California orchard. Bees are essential to the almond industry. Forty-two percent of America’s honey bees died in 2014. On average, beekeepers lose about 30 percent of their colonies annually – a number seen since 2006. As a trend, the numbers look… Read More
Jennifer Garcia with her daughter, Hannah, 2. Garcia found out the soil in her yard tested high for arsenic. It’s left over from pesticides sprayed before the 1950s on this same piece of land, when it was an orchard. Photo credit: Lena Jackson Listen Lead and arsenic used decades ago in pesticides are still… Read More
Bill Rietveldt, Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center curator, shows off apple labels. “The great northern railroad advertised Wentachee as ‘The Place to Go Grow Apples,” Rietveldt said. “That’s why people came here.” Photo credit: Tony Schick Listen For decades, apple growers in Central Washington sprayed their trees with a misty brew of lead… Read More
Andrew Shields, a wildlife biologist for Roaring Springs Ranch in southeastern Oregon, searches for a radio collared sage grouse. Photo credit: Courtney Flatt Listen The plight of greater sage grouse is at the top of mind for ranchers, conservationists and politicians across the West — so much so that one ranch in southeastern Oregon… Read More
