Updated 2 months ago
WSU offers $15.7 million in wage increases for academic student employees

PULLMAN — Academic student employees on assistantships would see an average wage increase of at least 20% under the latest proposal offered by Washington State University as labor negotiations continued ahead of a …

Updated 2 months ago
Basin Business Journal commodity report as of Feb. 16, 2024

Traded Commodities Corn (bushel) $4.1650 Wheat (bushel) $5.6050 Oats (bushel) $3.8325 Soybeans (bushel) $11.7225

Updated 2 months, 1 week ago
WAEF marks 30 years

WENATCHEE — The Washington Apple Education Federation celebrated its 30th birthday this month, according to an announcement from the organization. The anniversary commemorates three decades of shaping the future…

Updated 3 months ago
State paying out $40M-plus to families after price-fixing lawsuit

OLYMPIA — Thousands of Washington households will receive a little extra money, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced in a Dec. 6 press conference. The payouts are the result of price-fixing lawsuits b…

Updated 4 months, 4 weeks ago
Basin Business Journal commodity report for Nov. 22, 2023

Commodity prices in the Basin

Updated 6 months ago
Chemical processor fined nearly $480,000 for exposing workers to toxic gases

TUMWATER — A manufacturing company in Moses Lake that works with dangerous chemicals is facing nearly $480,000 in fines for safety violations, according to a statement from the Washington State Department of Labor …

Updated 6 months, 3 weeks ago
Energy Dept. awards Washington $23.4 million for electric infrastructure

OLYMPIA — On Sept. 5, Washington state received a $23.4 million Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to modernize the electric grid and reduce impacts due to extre…

Updated 8 months ago
Yakima orchards pay back wages to improperly paid workers

TUMWATER — The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced July 12 that the owners of two Yakima orchards have paid $500,000 in back wages and interest to more than 400 workers. “Farmworkers do…

Updated 9 months ago
Basin Business Journal commodity report for July 21, 2023

Here's how agricultural commodity prices have changed in the last month:

Updated 9 months, 1 week ago
As fuel taxes plummet, states weigh charging by the mile

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Evan Burroughs has spent eight years touting the virtues of an Oregon pilot program charging motorists by the distance their vehicle travels rather than the gas it guzzles, yet his own mother still…

Vietnam, Washington state sign agreement on ag development, trade
2024-04-10
Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) director Derek Sandison signed an agreement with Vietnam’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Hoang Trung on Monday, April 8 in Vietnam. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) marks an agreement between Vietnam and WSDA to work together to strengthen agricultural development and the promotion of agricultural trade.
WSDA now accepting concept proposals for the Food Assistance Resiliency Grants Program
2024-04-04
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Food Assistance program is now accepting applications for the fourth round of Resiliency Grants.
State begins annual treatments to eradicate invasive beetle
2024-04-01
Annual Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) treatments begin today, April 1, in south central Washington. The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is conducting Japanese beetle treatments in Grandview, Sunnyside, Mabton, Prosser, Wapato and Pasco as part of a multiyear eradication effort
Japanese beetle eradication efforts detailed at Pasco open house March 28
2024-03-26
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is hosting an open house on March 28 from 5 – 7 p.m. in Pasco to share information about its plans to eradicate the invasive Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica).
WSDA local food system infrastructure grant applications open
2024-03-18
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is offering $2 million in grants to support local food supply chains and market access for farms, ranches, food processors, and food distributors. The grants are designed to expand and strengthen collaboration across linkages in Washington’s regional food supply chain.