Fruit processor Del Monte Foods is shuttering facilities in Yakima and Wapato as of early August. The closure means the loss of nearly 500 jobs. 

The company’s failure to provide records for a scheduled compliance review led state labor investigators to uncover the company’s alleged failure to inform thousands of its workers of details of their jobs and compensation as required by state law. 

While the state oversees groundwater permits, some of the water comes from surface level irrigation as part of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project. That co-mingling has made it difficult to determine who gets to use that water and what agency is responsible for it. 

Many of Washington's undocumented immigrants work in agriculture and the report showed losing just 5% of the workers would severely affect the state's food production, leading to higher prices.

Ecology officials are seeking public feedback on an updated clean water permit for Simplot Feeders, the largest feedlot in the state. The 705-acre feedlot typically has 40,000 head of cattle on site with capacity for 100,000.

High school students in Kennewick School District’s FFA programs have been growing and caring for a variety of plants – from flowers to vegetables – and now they are sharing them at upcoming plant sales. 

A Richland-based agricultural company is reforming its hiring practices and paying a fine to the state Attorney General’s Office after an investigation into discriminatory employment practices and misrepresentations to local farmworkers about job opportunities.

Washington is among the most trade-dependent states in the nation, with more than $58 billion in exports in 2024 and 40% of jobs tied to trade. According to the governor’s office, new and retaliatory tariffs could cost the state’s agriculture sector $7.5 billion, with significant hits expected to apples, cherries, potatoes, wheat and dairy. 

Drought impacts in the Yakima Basin have far-reaching effects for the rest of the state. The region’s agricultural economy generates $4.5 billion each year, producing 71% of the nation’s hops, 63% of apples, 62% of cherries, and significant portions of other crops like pears, raspberries, blueberries, and asparagus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

In Washington state, 14 farms in Benton, Franklin, Yakima and Walla Walla counties participated in LFPA while Rowley & Hawkins Fruit Farm in Mesa, Royal Ranch outside of Royal City and The Herd ranch outside Ritzville participated in LFS as recently as the 2023-24 school year.