Pacific Northwest Ag Network

Orchardists, ranchers, and crop farmers across the drought- and fire-hit Northwest are being urged to contact their local USDA office now — several assistance programs have deadlines tied to when losses occurred.

Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined 20 other senators in opposing a USDA reorganization they say could gut programs that fund rural water systems, broadband, small businesses, and health clinics across Oregon.

After six years of declines, the U.S. cattle herd just ticked upward — and the reasons behind it say a lot about where the beef industry might be headed.

A possible U.S.-Iran peace deal nudged oil prices down slightly, but Northwest drivers are still paying more at the pump. Diesel in Washington now averages $6.16 a gallon, the highest in the region.

The Idaho Water Resource Board is accepting grant applications for aging irrigation infrastructure through August 7th, with individual projects eligible for up to $2 million in state funding.

The Oroville-Tonasket Irrigation District has old pipelines that have washed out roads and flooded a cemetery in Tonasket — and a federal planning effort is now underway to fix them.

Governor Kotek stepped in to halt a southeast Salem data center project, saying growth in Oregon has to make sense for the community, infrastructure, and natural resources — not just for investors.

Arkansas Senator John Boozman released a revised Farm Bill just before a scheduled Thursday markup, with provisions covering E15 gasoline, SNAP error rates, and support for rural farming communities.

Specialty crop growers can apply for USDA financial assistance through a login.gov account or at their local FSA office, with a deadline landing this Friday, August 7th.

USDA is hiring veterans and military spouses for ag and food security roles. Here's what the 100 Hires in 100 Days push means.

Even with lower commodity prices squeezing farm profits, cropland values just hit $6,000 per acre nationally — the first time that benchmark has been reached, according to USDA data.

Crop input costs, covering chemicals, fertilizers, and seeds, came in around $70 billion in 2025, making up roughly a third of what crop farms spend each year.

Benton County Fire District 1 is asking local businesses to display fire ban messages on their outdoor reader boards.

Eastern Washington farmers say a state water office cancelled a key permitting meeting, ignored its own technical standards, and left farmworker families waiting on housing that should have broken ground by now.

This year's Rainier cherry harvest came in around 1.1 million boxes — about half of last year's total — after spring storms knocked back what's usually one of the season's most popular crops.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture confirmed a classical scrapie case in a sheep processed at an in-state facility — and officials say the detection could push back the U.S. timeline for scrapie-free status by several years.

Oregon FFA Vice President Braelyn Marino is encouraging agricultural producers to speak up and not sidestep tough talks with urban communities about where food comes from.

Dairy and livestock operations are currently locked out of the H-2A guest worker program, and Central Washington's Dan Newhouse wants that changed in a new letter to federal agencies.

Oregon lawmakers are backing a bill that would fund mobile meal programs for rural kids during summer — an idea that started with one converted van in the Umatilla School District.

Oregon's Open Fields program is coming back. A new round of federal funding could reopen up to 300,000 acres of private farmland and ranchland for public hunting across the state.

If you work in agriculture or follow farm policy, the Washington State Department of Agriculture is holding three public webinars this August on a proposed pesticide and fertilizer fee increase coming in 2027.