By Michelle DuplerBenton County and Washington state marijuana retail sales bloomed in fiscal year 2016, and the high appears to have continued into 2017, according to data from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board.[blockquote quote="We’re your grandma’s cannabis store." source="Steve Lee, owner of Green2Go" align="right" max_width="300px"]Retail sales in Benton...

By Marilou SheaThis column is exclusively about one of our universally favorite things: food. Marilou Shea,Pasco Specialty KitchenIt contributes to our economy in all kinds of ways, from agriculture, processing and manufacturers, to talented entrepreneurs, cultural heritage, restaurants, food trucks, farmers markets and farm-to-table efforts.Farm-to-table is a cool concept but...

It’s too early to tell how the Trump administration will affect agriculture in Eastern Washington. But if the president’s budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Agriculture survives intact, it could chop a serious chunk out of the Washington Department of Agriculture’s budget. Derek Sandison,Washington Department of AgricultureThat’s what Derek Sandison,...

Middleton Six Sons Farms bought 15 carts for its workersThe asparagus served at several Tri-City restaurants likely features spears picked by experts at Middleton Six Sons Farms who have worked in the fields for more than three decades.It’s a lot of work to get the springtime favorite from field to...

By Aaron SparksIn a tight agricultural labor market, many Washington state farmers and fruit growers struggle to find workers during harvest season. In Washington, of course, much of the discussion revolves around apples, the state’s top crop, which, at $2.4 billion, accounts for nearly 25 percent of the state’s agricultural...

$750,000 facility took two years to build, replaces smaller greenhouseA new $750,000 greenhouse to support the state’s tree fruit industry recently opened in Prosser.Construction of the greenhouse and installation of specialized equipment took more than two years to complete. Money to pay for the greenhouse came through assessments on nurseries...

Although the temperatures were edging into the high 80s by 9 a.m., Fields of Grace volunteers continued reaching high into the trees, picking handful after handful of crimson cherries.The group, which consisted of 15 or so, spend their springs and summers gleaning everything from fruit to spuds to donate to...

Having grown up and raised five children in the Tri-Cities, John and Cathy Franklin have enjoyed living in the midst of orchards, vineyards and farms. But when Cathy couldn’t find locally grown produce in the stores during summer months, she realized something needed to change.“It was frustrating to go to...

In arid Eastern Washington where most of the state’s wine grapes grow, efficient irrigation is the name of the game. Yet little research has been done to determine the best irrigation strategies for white wine grapes.Washington State University viticulturists Yun Zhang and Markus Keller are discovering promising ways to conserve...