Agriculture | The Seattle Times

Agriculture

Read the latest news about Washington state's top crops: apples and pears; wheat and hay; milk and dairy; potatoes and vegetables; cherries, grapes and hops. Topics also include Washington state wines and viticulture, beef cattle and other livestock; aquaculture; international trade in farm commodities; organic foods, pesticides, herbicides and the debate over genetically modified crops (GMO).

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This Monday, March 18, 2019 photo taken by the South Dakota Civil Air Patrol and provided by the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, shows flooding along the Missouri River in rural Iowa north of Omaha, Neb. (Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP) CER107 CER107

March 19, 2019 at 7:23 am

Floodwaters threaten millions in crop and livestock losses WATCH

The rising water in Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri that has damaged hundreds of homes and been blamed for three deaths has also taken a heavy...

Cows wait their turn for the first milking of the day at J & K Dairy, 7010 E. Edison Road in Sunnyside, Wash. J & K Dairy was one out of the several farms that lost over 1,800 dairy cows in the Yakima Valley from the Feb. 9 blizzard. Today, dairy farmer Jason Sheehan and his crew are working to help heal cows that are suffering from frostbite after the storm.

March 12, 2019 at 6:00 am

‘What next? Biblical plagues?’ Blizzard killed 1,850 cows, and Yakima Valley farmers are reeling VIEW

Farmers in the Yakima Valley are still assessing the damage after a snow- and windstorm a month ago left 1,850 dairy cows dead in the...

Local News

February 27, 2019 at 10:16 pm

'It's quite magical': Ice castles turn farmland into winter wonderland VIEW

The winter wonderland, one of six in North America, is built from scratch when the cold conditions allow the ice to sprout from the barren...

February 26, 2019 at 10:08 pm

Ash loggers race against time before beetles get them all WATCH

WALTON, N.Y. (AP) — Loggers in snowy forests are cutting down ash like there's no tomorrow, seeking to stay one step ahead of a fast-spreading...

This Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019 photo, shows a lab-grown steak during a presentation by the Israeli company Aleph Farms, in Jaffa, Israel. Several Israeli start-ups have joined a handful of companies around the globe trying to develop lab-grown meat, something they see as a solution to the needs of the worldâ€™s ever-growing population and burgeoning demand for food. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) DV501 DV501

February 24, 2019 at 10:14 pm

Israeli startups join firms making lab-grown ‘clean meat’

Lab-grown meat, basically animal muscle cells grown in a culture, could someday compete with conventional chicken or beef, but the industry still faces significant hurdles,...

Mary Henrick sorts through Pink Lady apples on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, at Wray’s Food & Drug, 5605 Summitview Avenue in Yakima, Wash.

February 23, 2019 at 10:02 am

More outsiders want a slice of Washington’s fruit orchards

Investment firms are starting to purchase Washington tree fruit companies, including ones with a presence in the Yakima Valley. That’s prompted some family farmers to...

February 21, 2019 at 12:00 pm

State provides $100,000 to remove cows killed in Yakima Valley blizzard

Dairy-industry representatives said 1,830 dairy cows were killed outright at about 14 farms when a blizzard swept through the Yakima Valley on Feb. 9, with...