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).

Lawmakers weigh proposal to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines in Washington state

OLYMPIA — Testifying in favor of a bill to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines, Ami Strahan on Monday recounted to Washington lawmakers the fatal shooting of her son at Spokane County's Freeman High School. That September 2017 day, a student brought an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle and a .32-caliber handgun to school, according to news reports. But...

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A worker at Natural Milk dairy farm in Stanwood pushes feed up to the cows with a tractor. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

January 18, 2020 at 6:01 am

Many Washington dairies are struggling after years of trade wars and low milk prices

An industry already known for booms and busts has grown more volatile, forcing survivors to adopt new strategies.

January 17, 2020 at 4:31 am

Locust outbreak, most serious in 25 years, hits East Africa VIEW

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The most serious outbreak of locusts in 25 years is spreading across East Africa and posing an unprecedented threat to...

January 13, 2020 at 10:23 am

Trump to promote trade deals in Sunday speech to US farmers

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will highlight his policies on trade and domestic energy in a speech to U.S. farmers next week, the White...

Business

FILE – In this April 23, 2018, file photo, Trevor Eubanks, plant manager for Big Top Farms, readies a field for another hemp crop near Sisters, Ore. Draft rules released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a new and booming agricultural hemp industry have alarmed farmers, processors and retailers across the country, who say the provisions will be crippling if they are not significantly overhauled before they become final. (AP Photo/Don Ryan, File) LA801 LA801

January 12, 2020 at 10:03 pm

High anxiety: Proposed U.S. hemp rules worry industry VIEW

Growers are concerned the government wants to use a heavy hand that could result in many crops failing required tests and being destroyed. The U.S....

Business

January 11, 2020 at 5:19 am

Hemp farm sues no-show harvesters for $11 million

The lawsuit provides a look at the challenges one Southern Oregon hemp grower faced during the region's difficult first season farming the low-THC, high-CBD crop.

Business

Borden milk rests on a shelf in a cooler Monday, Jan. 6, 2020, in Richmond Heights, Ohio. Borden Dairy Co. filed for bankruptcy protection, the second major U.S. dairy to do so in as many months. Borden produces nearly 500 million gallons of milk each year for groceries, schools and others. It employs 3,300 people and runs 12 plants across the U.S. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) OHTD101 OHTD101

January 6, 2020 at 8:19 am

Borden Dairy seeks bankruptcy protection

Borden Dairy Co. filed for bankruptcy protection, the second major U.S. dairy to do so in as many months. Borden produces nearly 500 million gallons...

Business

080912 – PULLMAN, WA – Combines comb a hilltop in the Palouse, just outside of Pullman, Washington Thursday. Drought across much of the country has pushed crop prices higher; a bonus for northwest farmers who have experienced a good growing season. #123331

December 30, 2019 at 6:50 pm

Washington farmers, hurt by tariffs, are helped by federal bailout

Like their counterparts elsewhere, farmers in Washington state have benefited from a federal bailout intended to help producers hurt by the trade wars.

Anne Lee makes phone calls as a part of her USDA survey research job. MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Carolyn Van Houten

December 26, 2019 at 12:12 pm

In rural New York state’s Trump Country, a season of need on family farms VIEW

"This is what need feels like." Meet an upstate New York family hurt by the decline in the dairy industry, which has been exacerbated by...

Nation & World

An invasive Asian giant hornet was found for the first time in Washington state, near the Canadian border on Dec. 8, 2019.

December 21, 2019 at 4:04 pm

Huge, invasive bee-killing hornet turns up in Washington state

Washington state authorities say an Asian giant hornet has turned up near the Canadian border, carrying with it the potential for a powerful and painful...

December 18, 2019 at 5:50 pm

No, Wakanda is not Trump’s next tariff target — despite being removed from a U.S. free-trade list

The implications of the United States' sudden tariff decision weren't clear at first. Was the move an opening salvo in yet another trade war? Was...

Nation & World

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