WACD Reading List

During CSA Week, which begins Sunday, farmers across the country will promote their offerings. The acronym stands for Community Supported Agriculture, a term that stems from the biodynamic agriculture movement created by Rudolf Steiner in the northeastern United States in the 1980s. CSA members share the risk of farming by purchasing a share at the beginning of the growing season so the farmer can buy seeds and equipment. At harvest time, members get a weekly box of produce.

One way to support the future of the Othello Festival, which is coordinated by the Grant County Conservation District with contributions from volunteers, local business sponsors and wildlife and agriculture experts, is by purchasing a festival T-shirt through the link above.

You might remember the flooding in Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington right about this time last year. And here we sit with all the conditions just right to make it happen again, it seems.

Misunderstandings are rampant in today’s workplaces. While poor communication habits may feel inevitable with colleagues, we should always strive to engage with clarity and empathy, especially as we come to rely more on remote work and digital communication. What is a good first step to improving our habits? Relearning what it means to read carefully and write clearly.

A KING 5 investigation reveals the cost of Seattle’s cheap electricity, and the price is salmon, orcas and a way of life for Native American tribes.

Washington wheat growers will be monitoring their crops closely following a mid-February cold snap that brought low temperatures, wind and snow to the eastern portion of the state. Some winter damage is possible, said Glen Squires, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission.

It was an unusual confession from a CEO. “During my last staff meeting we must have spent 40% of the time talking about nothing,” Jorge said. “We were just hanging out, shooting the breeze, like the old days. It was one of the most enjoyable, productive calls we’ve had since we shut the office.”

Starting this year, all producers and landowners participating or applying to participate in certain NRCS conservation programs must complete form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan, according to a press release from USDA.

It may be a slow process, but one that has many in the farming community concerned; the loss of farmland due to urban sprawl. According to the American Farmland Trust, between 2001-2016 eleven million acres of farmland was removed from production nationwide. That comes out to roughly 2,000 acres per day.

Wealth tax, capital gains tax, payroll tax — what’s the difference? We break it down.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife will be conducting a prescribed burn next week in the north Potholes area of the Columbia Wildlife Area. The goal of the burn is to improve habitat for the northern leopard frog.

It’s been a little over six months in the development, but the Ellensburg City Council approved on first reading to create Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commission to develop ideals on how to make the city more inclusive in its lifestyle.

Former Tacoma Mayor and current U.S. Rep Marilyn Strickland will host a conversation with Olympia author, community leader, and former state agency head Merritt Long at 6 p.m. Thursday on Facebook Live. They will discuss the experiences he shared in his new memoir, “My View From the Back of the Bus” as well pressing issues facing the Black community in Washington and across the nation.

Higher commodity prices are putting cash in farmers’ pockets and as a result, farmland values are headed upward this year

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered permanent shifts in how and where people work. Businesses are planning for a future where more people are working from home, traveling less for business, or replacing workers with robots.

However, the concept of unconscious bias training is still part of the foundational effort many organizations made in 2020. They began by appointing DEI practitioners to lead the charge. Hiring for all levels of diversity, equity, and inclusion professionals increased more than 90% over last year, according to LinkedIn data.

In late January, the Washington Invasive Species Council approved an updated version of the statewide invasive species strategy. Justin Bush, Executive Coordinator for the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office, said at this point, they’ve only seen old invaders rearing their ugly heads.

Our latest research, in Nature: Human Behavior, explores one reason for why noble intentions only go so far: Gender inequities are baked into the structure of the informal recruitment process.

Two Thurston County farmers petitioned the Washington Supreme Court on Tuesday, claiming the State Conservation Commission should pay for taking a shortcut to remove them as conservation district supervisors.