USDA is holding it’s 100^th Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum “Cultivating the Future” in Arlington, Virgina at the Crystal City Gateway on February 15-16, 2024.

The Columbia Basin Development League (CBDL) requests your participation in the NRCS public comment period with needed comments in support of the Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS) adoption of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The public comment period is open until around December 8, 2023. It takes less than 5 minutes! A broad base of support sends a clear message about the importance of the Odessa Ground Water Replacement Program (OGWRP) and demonstrates that stakeholders concur with this action. 

On February 26, 2024, NPC Voting Delegates elected Bob Mattive from Monte Vista, Colorado to serve as the NPC President for the next twelve months and they installed members to serve on the Executive Committee for 2024.

The Department of Ecology has extended the deadline for Washington fleet, agricultural use included, owners and operators to report their 2022 vehicle operations. The deadline is now December 31, 2023.

Mark your calendars and register now! The Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) is excited to announce our 2^nd annual FREE Potato Academy to be held January 30, 2024 at the Red Lion Hotel located at 2525 N. 20^th Avenue in Pasco, Washington from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Nutrients published a new study “The Effects of Potato Presentation on Vegetable Intake in School-Aged Children: A Cross Over Study” reporting potatoes on the plates of school aged children promoted greater overall vegetable consumption.

The show will be held January 23-25th at the Three Rivers Convention Center and Toyota Center in Kennewick, WA. A full list of speakers and topics along with the conference agenda are available at www.potatoconference.com.  

The 2024 Potato Summit is only ten days away, and the Washington State Potato Commission (WSPC) is ready to host the Washington potato industry to explore trends and challenges impacting our industry in the future.

USDA ARS’ new podcast “Science in Your Shopping Cart” explores how science intermingles with agricultural products consumers purchase in the grocery store.

On November 30, 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their Economic Research Service and Foreign Agricultural Service Situation and Outlook report forecasting a deficit in United States (US) Farm Trade of $30.5 Billion.

The United States Department of Agriculture is working to provide over $3 billion to support Commodity and Specialty Crop Producers that had been impacted by the 2022 Natural Disasters. This program has set out to help balance the financial effects of the 2022 natural disasters that made an impact on crop yield.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to adopt the Odessa Subarea Special Study FEIS, United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), 2012 under the provisions of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR section 1506.3). The USBR Record of Decision (ROD), April 2013, amended September 2013, documented the selection of Alternative 4A Modified Partial-Replacement-Banks with Limited Spring Diversion Scenario (Alternative 4A).