State agency: Water prices high, supplies tight - AgMinute for April 28, 2015

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

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Water managers respond to deepening Yakima Basin drought - AgMinute for April 23, 2015

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

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Drought outlook deepens in Yakima Basin - AgMinute for April 7, 2015

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reports the drought outlook is worsening in Yakima Basin. Click here for the full story

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Cherries versus wheat — AgMinute for July 3, 2013

Doug Bromiley is a bit of a conflicted man these days. The wheat and cattle rancher side of him likes rain. The cherry grower side of him doesn't. "It's hard to cuss the rain," he says, "until you take your wheat hat off and put on your cherry hat."

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Rained out cherries — AgMinute for June 25, 2013

Rain is taking a toll on the Washington cherry crop. Much of Central Washington has escaped with rain showers, but Mattawa and the Lower Yakima Valley had heavy rain recently.

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Odessa critics — Washington AgMinute for March 28, 2013

Retired Washington State University agricultural economists Norm Whittlesey and Walt Butcher say the plan to bring Columbia River water to Odessa area farms doesn't make financial sense.

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Safer salmon — Washington AgMinute for March 15, 2013

Pesticide concentrations have generally declined in several of Washington state's salmon-bearing streams flowing into Puget Sound and the Columbia River, officials say.

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EPA deals with dairies — Washington AgMinute for March 8, 2013

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and five Yakima Valley dairies have reached legal agreements to reduce nitrates and improve water quality.

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Report error — Washington AgMinute for Dec. 21, 2012

An EPA report saying dairies near Sunnyside are a likely source of nitrate pollution in ground and drinking water in the Lower Yakima Valley is "filled with considerable errors" and can't be "scientifically defended to derive at the stated conclusions," according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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Clearing the tap — Washington AgMinute for Nov. 30, 2012

To help clear a backlog of thousands of water right permit applications, independent contractors next year will supplement inspectors from the Washington Department of Ecology.

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Aspiring water model - Washington AgMinute for Nov. 1, 2012

Researchers are looking for water users to help them as they model the major river systems in the Columbia Basin. Washington State University recently received a $1.4 million grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop a computer model of water movement and quality.

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Groundwater disputes - Washington AgMinute for Oct. 23, 2012

Three public interest groups are threatening to sue some big Yakima Valley farms over massive groundwater contamination in that agricultural region.

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