Pacific Northwest Ag Network

A Washington, D.C., Circuit Court panel vacated a swath of government decisions denying requests from small fossil fuel refineries to be temporarily exempt from the Renewable Fuel Standard.   In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency denied all pending exemption requests from small refineries, finding the only costs that could cause such economic hardship were those tied to compliance with the

In 2023. farmers and truckers of agricultural goods in Washington started paying a Climate Commitment Act fuel tax that, even through, by law, they are exempt.  Since then, Ag groups have been pushing for a fix to this exemption problem, with little help from the Department of Ecology.   “So, ...

According to the U.S. Census, American producers saw moderate improvement in internet access from 2017 to 2022.   Across rural America, the percentage of farm operations or operator residences with internet access increased from 75.4% i...

It's an effort within our nation going on almost a decade now.  “In 2015, USDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set a national goal to cut food loss and waste in half by 2030,” noted Jean Busby who has been involved in these efforts for several years now as USDA’s Food Loss and Waste Liaison.    That include...

The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition announced that Amazon has joined its expanding membership. The tech leader’s inclusion underscores the commitment to advancing SAF as a key element to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of jet fuel, create domestic jobs, and enhance American energy independence.  ...

U.S. agriculture is currently running a trade deficit of almost $19 billion and growing.  And while some say this reflects a weak noncompetitive American farm sector, one expert says that doesn’t tell the whole story.   “To look at the trade balance and say it's negative, so we're being outcompeted. It's, it's really oversim...

Late last week, the Bureau of Land Management announced its intent to develop a Federal Advisory Committee to engage the public and help inform the BLM’s implementation of the Public Lands Rule.  The committee will allow the agency to continue working with and hearing from a range of experts and the public to support successful rule implementation.   “The P...

Recently, PNW Ag Network attended WSU CAHNRS’s Center for Precision & Automated Agricultural Systems (CPAAS) Open House event in Prosser, Washington. Here we spoke with Peter Schellekens, Mark van Boxtel, and Dirk van Hees from the Netherlands about their unique international exchange program.

The Pacific Northwest Ag Network recently visited Prosser for the WA 64 Spring Field Tour. We spoke with the scientists behind the WA 64 apple to learn more.

This June, PNW Ag went to the OSU and USDA-ARS Field Day at the Pendleton Station. Here we talked with Oregon State University's Dean for the College of Agricultural Sciences, Staci Simonich.