The Organic Trade Association has petitioned USDA for a checkoff program for organic after more than 5,000 organic farms and businesses weighed in on the proposal and supported it 2 to 1. Click here for the full story.  Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

Summer water supply in Washington's Yakima Basin is now forecast at 44 percent of normal because of drought. A major irrigation district continues its quest for water to lease. Click here for full story  Subscribe to this podcast in iTunes or your favorite RSS reader.

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.