WSDA

Unfortunately, it’s a familiar theme at many fairgrounds across the state of Washington; rundown facilities that have seen better days.  But the state Department of Agriculture is trying to help address some of those needs.  The Washington State Department of Agriculture and the State Legislature recognize the importance of Washington’s fairgrounds, especially to the rural, more remote locations a

For the first time in seven years, the Washington State Department of Agriculture has confirmed equine infectious anemia in two horses.  The two horses come from separate farms in Yakima County but were together on one of the farms earlier this summer.  A priva...

Backyard bird owners across Washington, and the entire Pacific Northwest, are reminded to practice strong biosecurity measures as migration season starts to increase across the region.  The Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Dr. Amber Itle say...

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 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