washington state department of agriculture

With the fall migration underway across the nation, the state of Washington is preparing for an uptick in highly pathogenic avian influenza cases. Veterinarians predict newly infected wild birds will join the already infected, resident wild waterfowl populations: increasing the risk of transmission to backyard flocks...

Late last week, the Washington state Department of Agriculture was awarded more than $16 million in grants to help small farms and food businesses recover from ongoing economic impacts from the pandemic.  State lawmakers created the Local Food System Infrastructure Grants to improve the strength and resiliency Washington’s food systems.  Applicants offered...

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is investing more than $3.5 million to get locally grown food on lunch trays across the state this school year.  WSDA recently notified 83 school districts and childcare centers letting them know that they can use the money to make farm food purchases during the current school year.  WSDA Fa...

On Thursday, USDA announced it was awarding $72.9 million in Specialty Crop Block Grant program funding for Fiscal Year 2022.  The funding, via AMS, will go to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.   ...

The Washington state Department of Agriculture is investigating what caused several horses to recently become sick.  The Department confirmed on Facebook they are investigating reports of suspected hoary alyssum in hay, possibly causing several horses to become ill.  Ac...

Because of ongoing problems with the Japanese beetle, the Washington state Department of Agriculture has adopted a quarantine for the Grandview area.  Starting September 15th, the movement of certain items will be limited in the infested area, in an effort to prevent the spread of the invasive pest.  Those i...

The Washington state veterinarian, Dr. Amber Itle, has confirmed Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease in two rabbits in one house in Thurston County.  This is the state's second confirmed detection of RHDV2 this year following a King County case in May.  Wi...

The Entomological Society of America has adopted “northern giant hornet” for the species Vespa mandarinia in its Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms List.  While there was no official ESA common name until now, the hornet has been most often referred to as “Asian giant hornet” or “murder hornet” since its introduction in North America became widely known in 2020. The Washington State Dep

With the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a Jefferson County flock last week, Washington is now the national leader when it comes to infected backyard flocks. “We’re really facing an unprecedented situation,” Dr. Itle, Washington...

The Washington state Department of Agriculture announced another bird flu case Thursday.  A backyard flock in Kitsap County tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza on June 29th.  Kitsap is the 11th county with bird flu detected in domestic flocks, with 27 infected flocks statewide.  All inf...