coronavirus

How is the trade picture looking for Washington's Wine community?  We put that question before Chris Stone in today's PNW Ag Network Wine Minute.     If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsqu...

The top Republican on the House Ag Committee wants a stronger safety net for U.S. farmers.  Pennsylvania Republican Glenn Thompson wants Congress to strengthen crop insurance and farm subsidy programs so producers don’t have to rely on stop-gap federal aid to survive challenges like trade wars, natural disasters, and COVID-19.   “The n...

Thanks to international issues and pressures, oil prices have been fairly volatile over the past couple of weeks.  Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy said the price for a barrel of West Texas Crude fell last week, thanks to China’s zero COVID policy, which locked down the 2nd largest economy in the world.   Howeve...

American farm establishments received 14.5 cents per dollar spent on domestically produced food in 2021; a decrease of 1.0 cent from a revised 15.5 cents in 2020.  The figure is the lowest recorded farm share value in nearly three decades, according to ERS.  The rem...

With the holidays here, medial professionals say now is a good time to get your COVID-19 vaccine or booster to protect your family.  Rural families will gather over the holiday season, just as the U.S. faces a potential increase of COVID-19 cases, according to Dr. Mic...

"Oil prices this morning have plummeted down to about $75 a barrel the lowest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine back in February that has pushed gasoline and diesel prices down," said Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.  He added fuel prices have tumbled considerably over the past couple of weeks, resulting in relief at the local station.  He said ther...

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week his agency is planning for additional emergency relief and pandemic assistance.  USDA will soon roll out phase two of the Emergency Relief Program as well as the new Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program.  Th...

Despite COVID, supply chain issues, and the war in Ukraine, the United States in fiscal year 2022 still managed to set a new record for exports of agricultural products at $196.4 billion.  There were several factors pushing that figure higher over the past year.  Head of...

The 2022 Northwest Hort Expo will take place in Wenatchee, WA December 5th-7th.  Jon DeVaney, Executive Director of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, said last year’s event was a hybrid, with many speakers and government officials connected via Zoom.   “And l...

In fiscal year 2021, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as SNAP, served an average of 41.5 million people monthly.  ERS reported this week the 2021 figure is an increase of about 5.8 million per month compared with fiscal year 2019.  SNAP pa...