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A state agency projects that water will be expensive and hard to come by in the drought-stricken Yakima Basin. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington State University Extension northeast regional livestock specialist Paul Kuber took over a key position in February. Kuber wants to provide processors and ranchers with the information they need to make important decisions. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has started drawing down Yakima Basin reservoirs and an irrigation district is rationing water — two signs the drought has taken hold. Click here for the full stories Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington Department of Ecology is rewriting rules for CAFO permits. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

The Washington Senate and House have agreed that trains hauling nitrogen fertilizer won’t have to add crew members, a proposal that farm lobbyists warned would have raised freight costs for growers. For more information visit www.capitalpress.com Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reports the drought outlook is worsening in Yakima Basin. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington apple shippers are trying to maintain access into Mexico and are waiting on process for the final green light for all varieties into China. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

An idea of promoting club apple varieties wasn't embraced by the Washington Apple Commission at a recent meeting. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

A warm winter has increased the chances of strawbreaker foot rot impacting wheat appearing, a Washington State University Extension plant pathologist says. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Repairs on a cracked Columbia River dam in the center of Washington state are wrapping up and the dam's reservoir is being refilled. Irrigators will have water. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

A comprehensive review of Washington's watersheds confirms that conditions are pointing toward the state's first drought in a decade. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington hard cider makers are lobbying to break away from winemakers and form their own marketing association. For more information visit www.capitalpress.com Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

A lawsuit over whether piece-rate pay includes compensation for rest breaks will be heard by the Washington Supreme Court. If growers lose, it could cost them $100 million or more in back pay to employees. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

The agriculture-themed documentary, "Dryland," about two Lind, Wash., farmers coming of age, screens Feb. 6 at the Spokane International Film Festival. That's one of the latest stops for the film around the Pacific Northwest. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Farm groups are lobbying against a proposal to set up a new state program to regulate manure applications. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington lawmakers propose gradually raising the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2019. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Washington Rep. Joe Schmick has introduced a bill modeled after Idaho's law. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

A Bellingham, Wash., hatchery was forced to euthanize 22,000 healthy chicks Jan. 9 because of trade restrictions imposed by Canada after bird flu was found in non-commercial flocks in south-central Washington. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

The Washington Parks and Recreation Commission iis working on a policy setting fees and terms for when farmers can use long-distance trails otherwise off-limits to motorized vehicles. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Cherry growers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah are invited to the 72nd annual Cherry Institute in Yakima, Wash., Jan. 16. They will discuss the record 2014 crop and ways to sell more cherries. Click here for the full story Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.