In Washington Skagit Valley, a conflict is unfolding between the Upper Skagit Tribe and farmers as elk are making a comeback there. Continue Reading In Washington’s Skagit Valley, Elk Raise Tensions Between Tribal Read More
For the love of Johnny Appleseed! Why are so many apples left hanging (and rotting) on trees in Northwest orchards after the fall harvest? Industry experts and growers says it’s a combination of factors – but really not due to tariffs, as some people think. Read More
In 2019, the federal government delivered an extraordinary financial aid package to America's farmers. Farm subsidies jumped to their highest level in fourteen years, most of them paid out without any action by Congress. Read More
Dairy farmers in Massachusetts are using food waste to create renewable energy. Each farm produces enough to power about 1,500 homes. This helps prevent the release of methane, a greenhouse gas. Continue Reading Shockingly Chewable: Farmers Read More
Heavy rains and even an early fall snow in October matted down the garbanzo bean plants tight to the land. That means Palouse-region farmers are scrambling to dry out beans to get them to silos and co-ops. It's on top of already depressed prices due to international trade wars. Read More
The number of family farms seeking bankruptcy protection grew 24% over the last year, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation analysis of recent federal court data. The analysis found family farm bankruptcies are rising fastest in the Northwest. Read More
Fertilizer runoff is fueling the toxic algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. Farmers could help by growing crops in rotation to reduce the need for fertilizer. But it's unclear who will buy them. Continue Reading Diversifying Crops Read More
Right now, Northwest wheat farmers are wrapping up their harvest in many areas. But across the country, farmers are losing money on every load of that golden grain. Continue Reading ‘You Have To Remain An Optimist.’ Read More
If everyone around the globe began to eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables, there wouldn't be enough to go around. That's the conclusion of a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health. Continue Reading If We All Ate Read More
Of the 70,000 acres of mudflats in Willapa Bay, less than 10,000 acres are used for shellfish cultivation. Researchers estimate about a quarter of that farmable land has already been taken over by burrowing shrimp. But the battle over land between shellfish growers and the shrimp is not entirely new. Read More
Plastic is under attack these days for the environmental problems it causes. But sustainability-minded shoppers might not be aware that many organic farmers — like their conventional farming neighbors — also rely on plastic. It's spread over the ground as a form of mulch to suppress weeds, conserve water and aid plant growth. 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
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
The fertile fields in Washington and Oregon, are just now drying out from severe winter snows not seen for 100 years. And potato farmers like Schneider are a month behind in planting. A cool spring -- along with this late start -- could throw Schneider’s yields off 30 to 40 percent. 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
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
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
Northwest farmers are anxiously watching Washington, D.C.’s lame duck session to see if a Farm Bill will be passed before the New Year. Continue Reading Northwest Farmers Anxiously Watch Federal Farm Bill, As 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
For as long as he can remember, Angel has missed the beginning of the school year in Texas because his family stays in North Dakota through the harvest. It's weather-dependent, so there's no hard end; all Angel knows is they'll head home to Texas sometime in October or November. 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
Maria Gonzalez started at DeRuyter Brothers dairy in February 2015. At the time, she was the first and only woman working as a milker. For Maria, working there was a step up in career and pay. But it also meant facing sexual harassment from a male coworker. It ended with losing her job.
Read More
While honeybees and their buzzing hives and hyper-fertile queens get all the press for pollinating our food supply, the hard-working blue orchard bee is one of 4,000 bee species native to North America that does its solitary work in relative obscurity. That is, until now. Read More
East of The Dalles, Oregon, the Substation Fire has charred over 50,000 acres and is still spreading. A lot of that charred ground so far is golden, soft white wheat. And when grain burns, farmers can lose a lot of money – even if they have crop insurance. 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
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
The U.S. House of Representatives recently failed to pass a farm bill and Northwest farmers are worried that the process is not plowing ahead. Continue Reading Northwest Farmers Fret Over Farm Bill, Crop InsuranceRead 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
In the Northwest, we’re gearing up for a season of fresh berries, cherries, apples, and much more. Farmers of course want to avoid anything that could hurt crops: cold temperatures, tough tariffs, or even … pesky birds. Forget the clowns. Send in the falcons. 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
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
The recent bite of arctic air is causing real worry for Northwest fruit farmers. They’re fretting over their trees’ tender buds. And it all might get worse as things warm up. Continue Reading Northwest Farmers Hope Tender Fruit Buds Can Read More
In Arkansas, a regulatory committee of farmers and small-business owners banned the latest weed-killing technology from the giant agrichemical company. Monsanto is taking them to court. Continue Reading These Citizen-Regulators In Arkansas Defied 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
Six years ago, Jose Luis Mendoza lost part of his left leg, and with it, the ability to work as a farm laborer. He now has a lawyer trying to help him get full compensation from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries. Continue Reading 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
Charlie de la Chapelle (L) Cragg Gilbert (R) CREDIT STORYCORPS Listen When you think of farming in America, you may think of golden fields, red barns and abundant orchards. You may imagine a farmer in overalls, sitting on a tractor. But what about a farmer sitting in class — at a university? Cragg Gilbert… Read More
