July Issue

OutFront, Agriculture, June

Local Farming On The Rise

Small to midlevel farmers in Washington state look stronger than ever despite spiking oil and food prices. Traditionally muscled out by large agribusinesses ? whose capital, infrastructure and federal commodity subsidies enable...

Agriculture, January

Top Crop

Who the Key Players are in Washington's Ag Business

OutFront, October, Agriculture

Wheat prices continue to soar

Prices for soft white wheat are at their highest levels in decades, the result of falling global production and increased demand for grain. That's got retailers east of the Cascades hoping for a surge in buying this fall, Greater...

OutFront, October, Agriculture

Farm labor shortage may worsen

A Bush administration plan for combating illegal immigration will exacerbate a shortage of farm workers in the Northwest, agricultural groups are complaining.

"Right now, there's an immense level of fear – panic – in...

OutFront, October, Agriculture

Buying fresh from a farmer's (or city's) backyard

Buoyed by increasing consumer interest in fresh local foods, farmers markets are sprouting across Washington state, doubling from 60 in 1998 to 120 in operation today, according to state and local agricultural...

Trade Winds, Cover, October, Agriculture

Cultivating foreign Soil

A growing hunger in developing nations for Western-style cuisine is supersizing farm exports from the state of Washington.

The state's farmers and food processors sold more than $2.2 billion worth of fruit, vegetables, wheat and...

Trade Winds, Manufacturing, Cover, October, Agriculture

No rust belt here

Back in the late 1950s, dairy farmers in Grays Harbor would haul their malfunctioning pumps from their fields to Jim Vaughan's welding shop. The pumps typically would clog with twine and straw, and word soon spread that Jim could...

Trade Winds, October, Cover, Agriculture

A culture of trade

In this epoch of globalization, when so much depends on successful trading strategies – and with so many cities, states and provinces marketing themselves as international business centers, just how secure is Washington's...

August, OutFront, Agriculture

Wheat Production Good, Not GreatWheat Production Good, Not Great

Washington winter wheat production is expected to reach 119 million bushels this year, a 66-bushel-per-acre yield - respectable but not a record, according to the Capital Press newspaper.

In fact, Washington's winter wheat...

August, OutFront, Agriculture

Walla Walla Energized by new plants

With its sagebrush and rolling hills, parts of the Columbia Basin look vaguely like west Texas - and now the image is becoming complete as the region develops its own burgeoning energy industry. The Port of Walla Walla has...

OutFront, July, Agriculture

Organic on the Rise

The amount of certified organic land in Washington rose to 64,325 acres last year, up from 46,181 acres in 2005, according to Washington State University.

The number of certified organic producers grew to 554 last year from 529...

June, Entrepreneurs, Agriculture

Old Vines and Deep Roots

Leonetti Cellar and Woodward Canyon wineries have set the bar for Walla Walla wine

May, OutFront, Agriculture

What the hay?

The number of organic dairies is growing at such a rapid clip in Washington and Oregon that farmers are struggling to find enough local suppliers of organic feed and hay to support nearly 30,000 organic milk cows in the two...

Environment, March, Agriculture

Pay Dirt

Farmers see growing opportunities in cultivating seed crops for biofuels

OutFront, February, Agriculture

WSU to Train Iraqis in Agriculture

PULLMAN - Washington State University is one of four schools receiving $5.3 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture money to train Iraqi officials in crop production and marketing. After training, the officials will go on to...

Wine, January, Agriculture

The Healing Fields

Few people have seen, up close, the ravages of war and what it can do to the land and everything that grows on it - or doesn't grow. But Doug Tunnell, owner and winemaker for Brick House Vineyards in Newberg, Ore., experienced...

OutFront, December, Agriculture

Crops Up

WASHINGTON - On October 10th, the Washington state field office of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service released data on the value of the state's farm commodities, which reached record highs last year, up nine...

OutFront, November, Agriculture

Crop Swapping

THE PALOUSE - Farmers grappling with higher diesel fuel and fertilizer prices are dedicating more of their commodity acreage to specialty crops such as garbanzo beans, which have high yields and fetch greater prices at...