Pacific Northwest

Oregon rule extends COVID-19 workplace protections, including no bunk beds

Oregon OSHA has adopted a rule to maintain risk-reducing safety measures for workers across the state against the coronavirus. Although the rule includes several changes based on the public comments received since the rule was... more »

Valerie Shepler joins Fall Creek as commercial manager for US and Canada

Valerie Shepler has joined Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc., as commercial manager for the United States and Canada, where she is responsible for establishing and developing strong relationships with the company’s blueberry nursery and... more »

New director named for key Washington State University weather service

Washington State University's AgWeatherNet system has been growing rapidly in the last few years. Professor Lav Khot was named interim director of AgWeatherNet with the goal of maintaining the momentum of that growth and increasing... more »

Arctic apples now available for purchase on Amazon Fresh in select areas

Summerland, British Columbia-based Okanagan Specialty Fruits, developer and grower behind the Arctic apple, announce d5 oz. and 10 oz. packages of Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden fresh apple slices will be available on Amazon Fresh... more »

Pace introduces postharvest biorational fungicide for cherries in Washington state

Pace International, a leading provider of sustainable postharvest solutions and technologies for the fresh produce industry, announced April 22 the introduction of BioSpectra 100SC for decay control in cherries. BioSpectra is the first naturally derived... more »

RipeLocker raises $5M to pursue postharvest life of perishables

RipeLocker, a Seattle, Washington-based company specializing in extending the postharvest life of perishables, announced April 21 it has raised $5 million in series B capital from angel investors. The investment round is all from previous... more »

Ruling favors Washington farm groups in suit over unreasonable COVID rules

Yakima County Superior Court Judge Blaine Gibson ruled in favor of agriculture groups, prohibiting the state of Washington from enforcing unreasonable emergency COVID-19 regulations farm leaders say don’t incorporate best science, the arrival of vaccines... more »

Drought spreads water shortages throughout California

The 2020-21 California drought has led to significant water cutbacks, compelling farmers to fallow ground and public officials to respond with legislation intended to address the state's chronic water shortages. Farmers in more parts of... more »