WSDA

The full crop is estimated at just over 134 million standard forty-pound boxes of fresh apples, a 28.8% increase from 2022’s 104.3 million boxes.

Washington State Department of Agriculture officials confirmed last week that Japanese beetles have spread beyond the initial quarantine area established earlier this year.  On Thursday, December 15th, the WSDA filed an emergency rule to expand the boundaries of the internal quarantine of Japanese beetle.  The Dep...

The Washington State Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a large commercial flock.  The Franklin County operation first reported a high number of sudden deaths of chickens to the WSDA last week.  Investi...

The State Department of Agriculture is asking Washingtonians to check their Christmas trees, wreathes and other purchased holiday greenery for invasive species.  Last week WSDA confirmed elongate hemlock scale, Fiorinia externa, on out-of-state sourced holiday greenery.  The Dep...

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...

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...