North Dakota

Idaho is once again the top barley producing state in the country. According to the USDA’s 2020 Small Grains Annual Summary, Idaho’s barley crop this year was 1% largest than last year’s thanks to higher yields. In 2020, 500,000 acres of barley were harvested in Idaho, with the average yield of 110 bu/acre. That compares t ...

Senate Ag Committee Chair Pat Roberts took part in a discussion on the Senate floor this week about the replenishment of the Commodity Credit Corporation. The Kansas Republican pointed out that failure to do so would not only hurt already-struggling farmers, ranchers, and growers, it would jeopardize the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill programs ...

USDA Meteorologist, Brad Rippey, said topsoils nationwide are still trying to recover from late spring and early summer dryness. He noted only a handful of states have reported notable improvement. "Lead by North Dakota and Minnesota both at 18% surplus ...

It's moved at a slow pace this year, but the USDA says spring wheat planting is nearly complete. According to meteorologist Brad Rippey, nationally, 91% of spring wheat is in the ground, which is off the five-year average of 96% and just slightly ahead of last years 90% ...

When it comes to Spring wheat, plantings here in the Northwest are in good shape, but the rest of the country continues to struggle. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey said nationally, 14% of the intended spring wheat acreage is in the ground ...

On Tuesday, lawmakers reached an agreement allowing agriculture to participate in the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The agreement is part of a larger deal, a $484 billion coronavirus package to extend the Paycheck Protection Program. The ...

It’s not a shortage, but there is a tight supply of potatoes on the open market. Chris Voigt Executive Director of the Washington state Potato Commission says the shortage to start 2020 started during last year’s harvest. He said a bizarre fall storm in late September dumped a lot of rain, and in some cases, snow on potato growing regions across eastern Idaho, the upper Midwest and southern Cana

Columbia Grain international has been cited by the OSHA after reportedly exposing workers to grain-handling hazards after a worker was buried by corn and died in a North Dakota grain bin last summer.  The agency is proposing $190,000 in penalties against the Portland, OR-based company after a worker died while cleaning a bin last July in eastern North Dakota.  ...

For many industries, 2019 was a challenging year with more setbacks than victories.  One of the few exceptions was the Washington potato industry.  Chris Voigt, Executive Director of the Washington Potato Commission said after a late winter snow forced many growers to plant later than normal, 2019 turned out to be a perfect year for Washington potato growers.   “...

After over a decade at the helm, Roger Johnson announced this week he will not seek reelection as National Farmers Union president.  His current term comes to an end in March.   “Farmers Union has been a fundamental part of my identity for my entire life, and it has been my greatest honor to serve this organization and the admirable farmers and ranchers who comprise its membership," Johnson s