harvest

The University of Idaho is warning potato growers across the Pacific Northwest to be on the lookout for ring rot.  UI Extension Seed Potato Specialist Kasia Duellman said the tuber-born bacterial disease attacks crop yields, in both commercial and seed potatoes.   ...

A year after the legislature mandated overtime pay for farm workers, an effort is underway in Salem to make changes to the law.  State Representative Shelly Boshart Davis said since taking effect in June, the rules have created hardships for family farms and resulted in lower pay for ag workers.  She’s lookin...

2022 was a mixed year for many of the Northwest’s largest commodities.   All wheat planted in Idaho totaled 1.16 million acres, down 6% from 2021.   Harvested area, at 1.08 million acres, is down 5% from the previous year.   All wheat product...

Farmers will need to feed an estimated 9.8 billion people worldwide by 2050, and to help in that effort, Oregon State University researchers are trying to expand the use of robots in agriculture.  Joe Davidson, Assistant Professor of Robotics, said nearly all fruit is harvested by humans because robots don’t operate efficiently in unstructured environments.   "Not o...

Statistics Canada has released it’s third-quarter results for the Prairie provinces harvest, and there were some surprises from September’s estimates.  Bruce Burnette, chief markets analyst with Markets Farm based in Winnipeg, said nearly all Canadian Prairie harvest numbers where improved from last year’s drought-affected results.  Some of the largest ...

Chris Stone, VP of Marketing and Communications with the Washington State Wine Commission, takes a look back on the 2022 grape harvest.     If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@to...

NRCS is encouraging Idaho farmers to participate in no-till November.   “We're excited to borrow from the no shave November, because in agriculture we have our own version of stubble, after harvest," said Mindi Rambo with NRCS-Idaho.  "And so ...

Industry experts anticipate the 2022 Washington apple crop will be 11% smaller year-over-year when harvest is complete.  But why is this year’s crop smaller?   The Washington state Farm Bureau’s April Clayton, an apple grower in north central Washington, said her crop is down about 33% this year.   “So, if you do ha...

As we move into the 2nd half of October and harvest picks up, the 2022 crop numbers are a mixed bag.   According to NASS, Washington canola production is forecast at 231 million pounds, up 62% year-over-year.  Harvested area, at 130,000 acres, is unchanged from 2021.  Yield i...

Winter wheat acres jumped substantially from 2021, according to NASS.     Idaho growers planted 770,000 acres of winter wheat this year, up 60,000 acres from 2021.  Harvested area, at 710,000 acres, is up 70,000 acres from 2021.  Winter wheat prod...