Fruit Grower Report

The Washington State Fruit Commission has named Eric Patrick as its new president to oversee marketing for Northwest cherries and canned pears.

With spring upon us and summer fast approaching, you might want to think about dusting off those golf clubs, if you haven't already, and start thinking about the upcoming tournament put on by the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

With Northwest Cherry harvest within days of starting, things are looking sweet on the trees!

Ag-employers have been calling for changes to the H-2A foreign guestworker visa program for years, with few results.

It may go without saying, but technology is the now AND the future of agriculture with new equipment coming at an incredible rate.

With all of the challenges facing the agricultural industry, it's never been more important that our legislators understand what is actually happening out there.

It's become very popular over the past five or so years, and the Cosmic Crisp apple came to us with no artificial assistance.

Family farming has always been a challenging job through the generations but in recent years here in Washington state, the challenges have escalated.

Many in agriculture were pleased to hear the new Farm Bill passed in the House and is now moving on the Senate.

In the six years since the Cosmic Crisp apple hit the market, its popularity is soaring.

The Washington State Tree Fruit Association came into 2026 with a list of legislative priorities to tackle and look ahead with plenty of following up to do.

Ag groups appear pleased with the news that the House of Representatives passed a new Farm Bill.

The Cosmic Crisp apple, originally developed at Washington State University, will continue to be exclusively grown in Washington state for another six years.

Save Family Farming's Dillon Honcoop says the state of Washington has created an environment for agriculture that is ALWAYS challenging!

Promoting the availability and benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables is the focus of many in the ag industry, including the International Fresh Produce Association.

When it comes to ag labor, there are plenty of challenges farmers have to deal with, including wages.

When Senate Bill 6045 failed to get a vote during the last session, many were relieved that giving collective bargaining rights to Washington farm workers was shelved for now.

With all the talk about drought again this year, and a lack of snowpack in the mountains, why is nobody really talking about the fact that the reservoirs are currently filled to capacity?

Open border or ICE raids? We've tried them both and neither seems to be a practical solution for controlling who comes into our country legally, including those coming here to fill the dire need for an agricultural workforce.

Reports of the Northwest possibly entering a “Super El Nino” year has many farmers wondering how challenging the year ahead may be.

While the Farm Bill 2.0 is front and center for House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson of Pennsylvania, ag labor reform remains high on his list of priorities.

Much of what the Washington State Tree Fruit Association is focused on is engagement in state government affairs to help address the market uncertainty driven by government policy.

Based on the “alarming” news we're hearing about the low snowpack in the mountains and another drought year lately, should we be panicking? UW Atmospheric Sciences Professor, Cliff Mass says not so much.

Recent numbers show Washington is the least profitable state in the nation for farming, at a nearly negative $400 million dollars in 2024, the most recent data available. We asked Save Family Farming's Dillon Honcoop if state lawmakers were aware of what their policy decisions were doing!

Whether it's the cost of farming, the overtime laws, the CCA fuel tax, or the unionization of agricultural workers, growing food in Washington state is not easy.

The Trump Administration's revised Adverse Effect Wage Rate calculations are being praised by many in agriculture as the common-sense approach they'd been waiting for, now being tied to a less arbitrary standard.

American Farm Bureau Federation's Executive Vice President, Joby Young says concerns have risen since border security was strengthened under the Trump Administration.

Whether it's Washington's new millionaire's tax, homelessness, trans girls in sports, or the war in Iran, there are a lot of matters in the news that seem to overshadow the farming crisis here in Washington.

More than a month ago, the House Ag Committee passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act on a bipartisan basis, and now, Brian Glenn, American Farm Bureau's director of government affairs, says it's time for Congress to continue that progress.

So many of the problems facing farmers today comes from a lack of understanding among the public about where their food comes from and what it takes to produce it.

John Baranick, ag meteorologist at DTN, says they're predicting a switch from a La Niña to an El Niño this year, and it could be a strong one.

For anyone complaining that workers from other countries are taking away farm jobs from hard working Americans, do your homework.

Family farming has always been a challenging job through the generations but in recent years here in Washington state, the challenges have escalated.

The international Fresh Produce Association is a trade group with the mission of helping businesses at every step along our food supply chain.

The challenges the agricultural industry is currently facing don't show many signs of slowing down, but that's not to say there haven't been a few legislative wins along the way.

The need for labor reform is not the only challenge farmers are facing today, but it is one of the biggest.

WAFLA CEO, Enrique Gastelum says the AEWR is not the H-2A program's only problem that needs to be addressed.

Save Family Farming's Dillon Honcoop says the state of Washington has created an environment for farmers that is ALWAYS challenging.

Each year, the Feeding the Economy Report measures the downstream, off-the-farm economic impact of U.S. agriculture.

Whether it's tariffs and bumpy negotiations with other countries, the cost of transportation, or any other problem, trade is filled with challenges for agriculture.

A bill by Washington Democrat Pramila Jayapal has been introduced into the House of Representatives that could make the H-2A visa program more challenging.

Washington's apple logo gives our most well-known crop an identity others don't enjoy!