Washington’s agriculture industry has been hit hard by climate change. Growers are working to develop crops that can thrive in shifting landscapes.

The Department of Ecology has declared a drought emergency for most of Washington.

For producers experiencing hot and dry conditions and/or drought in our State, here are helpful resources

Nearly 70% of the region is in some stage of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, with 20% in "extreme" or "exceptional" drought, the two driest categories.

What’s now considered a long and intense drought in Oregon and parts of the American West is becoming the norm, according to new research.

The reigning La Nina has more staying power than expected and likely will stay through the spring and into the summer...While a La Nina can worsen drought in the southern tier of the U.S., it's linked to cool and wet weather in the Northwest.

Central and Southern Oregon are bearing the brunt of an extensive drought that could bring early wildfire and more water shortages this summer.

The so-called megadrought that is afflicting the American West is the worst in 1,200 years, according to a study published this week.

But state officials and water policy experts are still urging caution even in these wet conditions, pushing for water-saving measures as the drought is expected to continue throughout much of the West.

Statistics confirm what your eyes have already told you as you look at the higher elevations across Washington. The snowpack across the Evergreen State is almost non-existent for this time of year.

Withered crops and puny livestock; dead fish and swarming insects; laid-off workers, shriveling economies, and rural homes stranded without running water — these are just some of the calamities unleashed by a historic drought affecting all of Oregon and parts of Washington.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House Nov. 5 voted 228-206 to pass a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $8.3 billion dollars in water-related investments. The package, HR 3684, includes investments in dams, waterways, flood prevention efforts, drought resilience, groundwater storage and conveyance, aquifer recharge projects and other water works.

Washington (Funding amount: $1,900,000) Kittitas Reclamation District (Kittitas) Whitestone Reclamation District (Okanogan)

Ian Rickert, acting fire management specialist with the Bureau of Land Management Oregon-Washington State office and the United States Department of Agriculture/Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region office said in a late August report that there are still areas of Washington and Oregon that still have a considerable distance from being in the clear as high temperatures and low humidity continues to affect those regions.

USDA Meteorologist, Brad Rippey, said much like the small grains, pasture and rangeland across the region have been hit hard by the drought and hot temperatures.

WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans who represent Western states in Congress called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday to provide more aid to farmers and ranchers battling historic heat, drought and wildfires across the region. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, lawmakers from nine states asked the USDA chief to “explore all potential flexibilities for additional relief,” noting that some Northwest berry growers have reported losing up to 80% of their crops to the heat wave that saw temperatures in the region reach as high as 120 degrees in June. “Although the extent of damages relating to the extreme heat has yet to be fully determined, agricultural producers expect these impacts to be severe,” the lawmakers wrote. “As producers continue to assess losses over the next 18 months, it is likely that the total impact of the heat wave will be much higher than current estimates.”

Public lands east of the Cascades managed by the Washington state Department of Natural Resources will be closed indefinitely because of drought and the worsening wildfire season. Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz will announce the public land closure during her visit Tuesday morning to the 12,000-acre Red Apple Fire near Wenatchee. “This is never something we want to do, but we need to keep people safe,” said Ryan Rodruck, communications manager for Eastern Washington DNR.

WASHINGTON — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is authorizing emergency procedures to help agricultural producers impacted by extreme drought conditions. USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is working with crop insurance companies to streamline and accelerate the adjustment of losses and issuance of indemnity payments to crop insurance policyholders in impacted areas.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has sent a letter to President Biden asking for additional federal assistance for the Evergreen State’s producers. The letter says, in part: “Unfortunately, in addition to the ongoing drought and low soil moisture problems, an extreme heat wave hit the state at the end of June. High temperature records were set across the state, topping out at 117 degrees in Eastern Washington and 110 degrees in Western Washington. Many of the producers who suffered heat-related impacts were either located in counties not covered by the drought declarations, experienced losses not covered by FSA drought assistance programs, or both.

On July 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated 14 counties, mostly in Eastern Washington, as primary natural disaster areas. The declaration allows the Farm Service Agency (FSA) the ability to offer emergency loans to producers to help them replace essential equipment, inputs or the refinance of farm-related debts. Producers in 10 Washington counties that are contiguous to the primary counties are also eligible to apply for emergency loans. A federal drought designation is made when a county has a D2 (severe drought) conditions for eight weeks in a row or a D3 (extreme drought) conditions during the growing season. The primary counties are Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima. The contiguous counties are Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Ferry, King, Lewis, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Pierce and Skamania.

Spokane keeps setting ominous weather records this year. The region in 2021 had its driest, and second hottest, Feb. 1 through July 10 stretch since record-keeping began in 1881, according to the National Weather Service. And the unwelcome weather isn’t letting up soon, with 100-degree days and no rain forecast this week. Wilson said 2021 has been one of the hottest, driest years in the region’s history. The stretch from Feb. 1 through July 10 has been the second hottest Spokane has ever seen, behind only 2015 – which was the worst wildfire year in state history. “Acres burned are mostly highly correlated to the summertime temperatures, so it’s not a good thing that we see temperatures of this magnitude,” Wilson said.