Pacific Northwest Ag Network

Washington State is reminding outdoor and farm workers that wildfire smoke carries fine particles that can reach the bloodstream — and cloth masks won't stop them. N95 respirators are the minimum protection recommended.

Oregon's two senators joined a bipartisan group urging FEMA to release long-delayed wildfire recovery grants — some communities have been waiting since fires from previous seasons destroyed homes and infrastructure.

Senator Crapo introduced two bills this week — one to modernize how clean water dollars flow to Idaho, and another to help rural towns use water systems to fight wildfires.

Julie Tarara from the Washington Wine Commission explained how ongoing research efforts are influencing wine production across the state in ways that go well beyond the tasting room.

Five Oregon homes have burned this year, and the total acreage lost already tops all of last season. Senator Merkley is pushing hard to reauthorize Forest Service funding he calls still far too thin.

Oregon Farmers Markets Association board president Rose Williams Guevara wants more consumers to know the story behind what they eat, and she says that conversation needs to happen across the whole state.

On September 12th, thirteen Whatcom County farms open their gates for a free, self-guided tour — from dairy operations and flower growers to indoor vertical farms and aquaponics setups.

A Pasco food bank that feeds roughly 1,700 families every Wednesday just received $200,000 in state funding. St. Vincent de Paul plans to use the money to add more protein, dairy, and fresh produce to the food boxes they hand out.

The Pacific Northwest ships billions of dollars in goods to Canada every year, supporting an estimated 560,000 regional jobs. Trade groups are now pushing the administration to negotiate rather than move forward with a new round of tariffs.

Blood has a short shelf life and can't be stored long-term, which makes summer donations more important than most people realize — especially for O, B negative, and platelet donors.

A newly certified federal fund is putting private money behind agricultural technology by connecting startup companies directly with farmers to road-test new tools under real working conditions.

Food insecurity in Washington isn't just showing up in lower-income households anymore. A new state survey found that rising costs across the board are stretching budgets well beyond the grocery aisle.

For years, Washington potato growers had more overseas demand than they could handle. That has changed, with exports dropping around 10 percent as China and India become serious competitors in the same markets.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to expand the federal Renewable Fuel Standard to include woody debris from forest thinning, giving rural timber communities a new economic reason to clear fire-prone land.

A Colorado vet returned from ten days vaccinating dogs in rural Tanzania and launched a virtual 5K that drew participants from around the world and raised close to $14,000.

Kendra Kaiser spent years studying watershed hydrology at Boise State before taking the helm of the University of Idaho's statewide water research institute earlier this month.

From Capitol Hill visits to panels on agricultural trade and leadership, nearly 500 farmers and advocates spent three days in Washington D.C. celebrating women's work in agriculture.

Farm communities across the country are short on veterinarians, and Purdue University is responding by planning its largest veterinary school expansion in more than a decade.

U.S. dairy farmers say Canada never fully honored its USMCA commitments, and now the White House is responding with a 50% tariff on Canadian dairy imports under a 1930s-era trade law.

Farm and ranch succession planning is one of those conversations families keep putting off — and a new NCBA resource is built specifically to help producers start that process on their own terms.

Grain markets are heading into 2026 and 2027 with less cushion than usual — the International Grains Council cut its production forecast by 4 million metric tons, pointing to shrinking corn and wheat inventories as the main concern.