Yakima County

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said Monday the state will see the addition of hundreds of new jobs in rural communities, thanks to $700,000 in state funding.

The first case of West Nile Virus this year in Washington has been confirmed in a Yakima County horse.

Japanese beetles have made their first appearances of the year in the Lower Yakima Valley.  The Washington State Department of Agriculture said nine beetles were detected in ten traps in Grandview and one beetle was detected in a trap in Wapato on June 9.   ...

Efforts to investigate the Northwest EPA office are now coming from D.C.  On Monday, central Washington’s Dan Newhouse sent a Letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin requesting an investigation into communications between anti-agriculture activist organizations and federal civil service employees.   "I am writing to...

According to the state Department of Ecology, drought conditions continue in central Washington and may be developing in the northern and even western parts of the state.  And the recent Water Supply Availability Committee meeting indicated existing drought conditions are likely to persist through the summer, and in some areas, conditions may worsen. T...

For the 3rd year in a row, the Washington Department of Ecology has declared a drought emergency in central Washington.  Ecology noted in Tuesday’s announcement that back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 took their toll on Upper Yakima, Lower Yakima and Naches watersheds, causing significant deficits in precipitation and soil moisture.   The De...

This year, as in year’s past, the Washington State Department of Agriculture will deploy thousands of traps to monitor for Japanese beetle adults.  While the program traps around nurseries and farms throughout the state, most traps are placed at pathways like airports, railways, or transfer stations.  The Departmen...

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Spokane ordered a trio of central Washington dairies to provide water filters for nearby residents as well as test area wells for nitrate contamination.  Judge Thomas Rice issued the preliminary injunction December 17th at the request of the EPA against Cow Palace, DeRuyter and Liberty dairies in Yakima County.  Accordi...

According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, homeowners who live in a previous Japanese beetle treatment area in Yakima or Benton counties can now give consent and sign up for 2025 Japanese beetle treatments.  WSDA said southcentral Washington homeowners can get these free treatments by getting a consent form, either in English or in Spanish, filling it out and returning it to the

Last week, USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small announced that USDA is partnering with farmers and small businesses to expand access to clean energy and lower energy bills through the Rural Energy for America Program.  The USDA announced $104 million in loans and grants to support over 300 clean energy projects in 34 states.  That in...