Reporting from this source, summarised, rewritten or translated and published under its name · 33 stories
LivestockA Yakima County resident who had been exposed to bird flu on a dairy died on Nov. 1, the first US death linked to infected cattle, as the virus spread to 40 Washington herds in under a month.
EnvironmentOregon's agriculture department has found hydrilla in private ponds in Jackson County and plans herbicide, surveys and nursery checks to stop a weed that chokes ditches, intakes and fish habitat.
The US National Weather Service reported sea-surface temperatures 2.5°C above average along the equator on 26 October; all 27 climate models forecast a very strong El Niño, and some project more than 3.5°C.
LivestockA Benton County herd is under quarantine after eight infected herds in neighbouring Yakima County since 8 October; Washington, Texas and Kansas are the only states with new dairy cases in the past 30 days.
EnvironmentWashington State University is breeding Bagous nodulosus, which feeds only on the invasive aquatic plant, to build a population for release over the next one to two years.
AgribusinessThe Federal Reserve's quarter-point rise in September, its first in three years, will push up variable-rate farm credit lines as farmers already face high costs and thin margins; Idaho economists advise fixing some rates and buying part of next year's fertiliser now.
FruitsMore than 20 cranberry farms on Washington's Long Beach Peninsula are wet-harvesting their bogs; one family reports a smaller crop this year, and growers are easing the work with a simple PVC spray bar that cleans and moves the floating berries.
EnvironmentWashington had an average year for rain and snow but its second-warmest water year since 1895, so the snowpack failed and a statewide drought was declared; September rain then let Yakima Valley irrigation districts deliver water into mid-October.
FruitsOnly about 300 acres of quince are grown commercially in the US, but Pacific Northwest growers, cider makers and the USDA's quince collection see a niche market growing, Capital Press reports ahead of Portland's third Quince Fest.
EnvironmentIn Capital Press's Ag 250 series, tribal and Washington State University experts describe how Pacific Northwest peoples built food security through salmon weirs, shellfish beds, root gardens and fire-managed prairies, and why tribes are reviving those food ways.
CropsSoybeans were left off the list of goods offered easier treatment after President Trump met President Xi Jinping, and futures fell 31 cents a bushel, costing growers about $20 an acre, an Iowa farmer says.
LivestockA USDA Economic Research Service study finds revenues at rural veterinary practices that treat food animals fell about 22% between 2021 and 2025, deepening shortages in cattle country.
FruitsProcessors will pay at least 75 to 90 cents a pound for the 2026 crop, down from $1.05 to $1.30, with final prices unlikely before spring.
