Ritzville

Several key ag issues have taken center stage during the current Washington legislative session.  But is the farming community getting a fair shake in Olympia?   No, says Ritzville senator, Mark Schoesler.   He noted the 2022-2021 session was horrible for Washington’s farming community, but this session isn’t much better thanks to the deaf ear the ag community has received.  He pointed to the Cap

Last month, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced that he and senator Patty Murray were exploring options to breach the lower Snake River dams. Conservation groups and northwest tribes have increased efforts as of recent to remove the four dams located between Lewiston, ID and Pasco, WA ...

Starting October 18th, Washington government employees, including teachers, police officers and others, need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Add to that list 4-H volunteers across the state. Washington lawmakers connected with the farming community worry this mandate will hurt the program and discourage people from volunteering ...

Despite being rejected by voters multiple times, lawmakers in Olympia are looking at putting a capital gains tax on the books in Washington. What impact would such as tax have on the farming community across the Evergreen State? State Senator Mark Schoesler, a wheat farmer from the Ritzville are, called the capital gains idea a gateway drug ...

As Washington lawmakers continue to debate the idea of requiring overtime pay for ag workers, one farm legislator says the conversation is not good for either the producer or the employee. Senator Mark Schoesler, a wheat farmer from Ritzville, said the idea of initiating overtime pay is counterproductive for both sides of the equation ...

It's been ten years since Washington's beef community began Beef Counts, the beef community’s effort to help fight hunger across the Pacific Northwest. Branden Spencer, a 4th-generation farmers in the Ritzville area said it's important that Washingtonians see that those who work in the beef supply chain want to help their neighbors in their time of need. ...

Farmers across the Inland Northwest, have been very busy over the past couple of weeks, not preparing their commodities for processing, but rather helping fellow Washingtonians impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Over the past couple of weeks, potato grower, for example, have held donation events where thousands of pounds of spuds were handed out to those in need; no questions asked ...

In an effort to help eastern Washingtonians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to move potatoes that don’t have a destination, a host of growers will donate nearly 20 tons of spuds in Ritzville Wednesday morning. Pomeroy representative Mary Dye, who serves on the Washington state Food Policy Forum, says demand for potatoes from area processors has slowed because of the worldwide pandemic, so

A survey recently conducted for the Columbia Basin Development League shows those in the northern portion of the Basin are concerned about the state of local water.  The survey questioned 255 people in the Tri-Cities, Moses Lake, Ephrata, Othello, Odessa and Ritzville in September. ...

On Tuesday, the USDA announced the City of Ritzville and the Greater Bar Water District received federal monies to address water issues.  The federal loans and grants come through the USDA’s Water and Waste Disposal program.  The aim of the program is to improve water systems and waste water handling services in rural communities by ensuring reliable infrastructure.   Ritzvi...