Agriculture

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Washington Farmworker Union Bill Falters in Senate (Capital Press, Feb 18)
Legislation to give Washington farmworkers collective-bargaining rights stalled, failing to meet a deadline to pass the Senate. Senate leaders didn’t bring Senate Bill 6045 up for a vote before time expired Feb. 17 for bills to pass at least one chamber to stay alive for this session. A House version died in the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee. Farmworker advocates and union leaders pushed for bargaining rights, while farm groups and individual farmers pushed back, arguing the bill was ill timed.

Shrinking Beef Cattle Herd Means Higher Prices and Volatility (Capital Press, Feb 19)
The U.S. beef cattle market should continue flying high but also faces turbulence in 2026 thanks to the lowest inventory in 75 years, according to an American Farm Bureau Federation economist. “With cattle supplies this tight, markets have become more responsive to news and events that could impact supply and demand. This has resulted in a tremendous amount of volatility in cattle markets,” wrote Bernt Nelson, in an online analysis.

Winter Grain Mite Extensive in Northeast Washington Wheat Fields (Capital Press, Feb 17)
Winter grain mite has been identified and is actively feeding in wheat, Washington State University Extension agents say. WSU posted an alert on its Small Grains website. “It’s pretty extensive up north in the Lincoln County area,” said Aaron Esser, regional extension agronomist and Adams County extension director. “I’ve never seen it in my 27 years.”

USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance Signup Opens Feb. 23 (Successful Farming, Feb 20)
The Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, first announced in December 2025, will provide $11 billion in one-time payments to row crop producers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs, according to USDA. Enrollment opens on Monday, Feb. 23, and closes on April 17, 2026.

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Washington Politics​
Washington Bill Addresses Regulations on Farmers, Link to Suicide (560 KPQ, Feb 19)
13th District legislator Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) is trying to advance a bill in Olympia that will examine the impacts of Washington state's regulations on farmers and ranchers and high suicide rates. House Bill 2619 passed the Washington House on Tuesday, according to Dent's staff. The bipartisan legislation sponsored by Dent aims to reduce unnecessary regulatory stress on producers in Washington's agricultural industry.

Governors say Trump told them he won’t force immigration enforcement surges on states (Washington Standard, Feb 20)
President Donald Trump told governors Friday during a meeting at the White House he has no plans to surge federal immigration operations in states where it’s not wanted. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul said during an afternoon press conference with several other governors that Trump was asked during the closed-door meeting about what lessons he learned from immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota, where federal officers killed two U.S. citizens. “The president said, ‘We’ll only go where we’re wanted.’ And said, for example, ‘I won’t go to New York unless Kathy calls and says she wants me to come to New York,’” she said. “I took that as a very positive outcome from this meeting. And I would want to hold him and the administration to that statement.”

What didn’t pass: High-profile bills that failed in the Washington legislature this session (MyNorthwest, Feb 20)
The state legislature failed to advance several high-profile bills this session, including barring former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from becoming police officers and a 32-hour work week mandate.

So-called ‘initiative killer’ is dead in the Washington Legislature (Yakima Herald, Feb 18)
Democratic state senators’ pursuit of new barriers to Washington’s initiative process ended quietly Tuesday. Senate Bill 5973, dubbed the “initiative-killer” by opponents, lapsed when it did not get passed by a 5 p.m. deadline for action on non-budget bills.

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Climate & Endangered Species

 

NOAA Fisheries denies ESA petition for Washington coast spring-run Chinook salmon (Seafood Source, Feb 20)
More than two and a half years after a petition was filed, NOAA Fisheries has determined that spring-run Chinook salmon on the Washington coast are not a distinct group from their fall-run counterparts and don’t warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Washington Lawmakers Ponder Prison for Water or Air Quality Violators (Capital Press, Feb 19)
Washington farm groups are lobbying against legislation that threatens to imprison people for environmental violations such as manure running off fields into water. A person already can spend a year in a county jail for breaking state environmental laws such as the Water Pollution Control Act and the Clean Air Act. Senate Bill 5360 would up the maximum penalty to a long prison sentence.

December floods test salmon habitats, restoration efforts (Salish Current, Feb 4)
As experts are unsure of how impacted salmon populations are from the recent December flooding, salmon restoration projects are proving their importance. What could it mean for future flood mitigation efforts?

Klamath Fall Chinook Return Tops Expectations in 2025 (Fishing the North Coast, Feb 19)
Based on an ocean abundance estimate of 82,672 Klamath River fall Chinook believed to be in the ocean last fall, forecasters predicted just 28,554 adults would return to the river in 2025. Instead, the run significantly exceeded expectations, with 51,277 adults returning to the basin.

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Trade & Markets

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US Supreme Court rules against Trump’s tariffs in 6-3 opinion, dealing blow to trade agenda (Washington Standard, Feb 20)
The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major blow to President Donald Trump’s trade agenda Friday, ruling the tariffs he issued under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act are illegal. In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said Congress alone holds the power to tax in almost all circumstances. The Trump administration’s argument that trade deficits and illegal drug imports granted it emergency power to levy tariffs was not justified, the court said. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods.

Trump vows new tariffs, attacks Supreme Court justices after ruling (Washington Standard, Feb 20)
President Donald Trump said Friday he plans to keep tariffs in place using different authorities after the Supreme Court ruled he exceeded his power under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act. During the afternoon press conference in the White House briefing room, Trump repeatedly criticized the six justices who wrote “that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”

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Research

 

WSU turfgrass professor and area farmer make national ‘Ask This Old House’ appearance
(WSU Insider, Feb 18) “Ask This Old House” is a public broadcasting institution that provides televised tips to homeowners on topics ranging from ceiling fan installation to fixing leaky faucets to landscaping issues. A Washington State University professor will soon lend his expertise on that last topic.​

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This week in history

On February 22, 1897, one of out-going President Grover Cleveland's last official acts was the proclamation of the Olympic Forest Reserve, but its creation was not without controversy. Some thought the move to be impetuous, and after William McKinley took office he issued a proclamation – with support of the timber industry – that reduced the reserve by more than 700,000 acres. [Historylink.org]