Ag Alert!

Ag Alert! Calendar for May/June 2012
May 10, 2012
To submit your ag-related news or events please e-mail me: Jim.Honeyford@leg.wa.gov. If you know someone who wants to receive the Ag Alert!, please have them phone my Olympia office at 1(800) 562-6000 or (360) 786-7684 and provide their e-mail and residential address. Thank you! Read More...
Bills held hostage, Ag Alert and more…
March 22, 2012
Another story you may have heard about is the governor’s threat to veto bills unless the Legislature reaches a budget compromise. While the goal may be worthwhile, I believe she is unnecessarily hurting the people of Washington. There are dozens of bills to help people waiting to become law that... Read More...
Only nine days left in the regular session
February 29, 2012
There are now only nine days left until the end of the 2012 regular legislative session, meaning we’re in the home stretch to the finish line. This is about the time when things get very hectic and fast-paced here in the Legislature, as both parties and both chambers maneuver to... Read More...
Ag Alert! Calendar for February 22, 2012
February 22, 2012
FEBRUARY 2/22 – Backyard farming five-week course, 21 acres, Woodinville. (425) 481-1500. 2/23 – Managing Disease According to Risk: The Tasmanian Experience with Dr. Kate Evans, and Blowing in the Wine: Inoculum Detection and Disease Management with Dr. Walt Mahafe, WSU Tri-Cities, Richland. (509) 372-7224. 2/23 – Beef Day hosted by the... Read More...
Humane Society’s claims are hard to back up
February 22, 2012
During a recent work session of the Senate ag committee, we heard the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) make claims about the treatment of animals in Washington farms. They claimed sows in gestation crates are being prevented from free movement to the point that they were rubbing their... Read More...
Colony collapse disorder threatens entire ag industry
February 22, 2012
Colony collapse disorder, or CCD, is a very real threat to farmers everywhere. Since 2006, honey bees around the world have been disappearing from hives and there is no clear reason to be found. If bees cease to help pollinate Washington’s crops, our state’s entire agricultural economy could be headed... Read More...
Sheepherder guestworker program under attack
February 22, 2012
Another push at the federal level would put an end to the H-2A guestworker program, which many Washington sheep ranchers depend on. According to the Western Range Association, the Washington D.C.-based group, Farmworker Justice, is on the attack and is targeting the highly successful program which allows U.S. ranchers to hire guestworkers year-round. The... Read More...
Proposed change could bar kids from parents’ farms
February 22, 2012
As you are no doubt aware, farmers can employ their underage children to do on-farm tasks. However there is a push by the U.S. Department of Labor to “increase parity” between agriculture and other industries. The department is proposing a change to the rule that allows children to work on... Read More...
Ag-related bills in the Legislature
February 22, 2012
Senate Bill 6392 – Expanded farm internship program. In 2010, the Senate agriculture committee heard testimony that Washington is facing a crisis of aging farmers. The average age is 56, and 70 percent of farmland is expected to change hands in the next 20 years. To help bring young people... Read More...
Update on the budget and agriculture
February 22, 2012
We’re now about two-thirds of the way through the 2012 regular legislative session and are on the downhill slope toward the March 8 deadline. I’m slightly more optimistic that we may not have another special session due to the fact that most of the budget proposals that need to be... Read More...