Washington Grown's new season hits the air

Karla Salp
Communications

Host Kristi Gorenson gets up close and personal with cows.

If you’ve ever wondered where your food comes from, who is growing it, and how it gets to your table, Washington Grown is the show for you!

Season four of Washington’s one of a kind, Emmy-winning farm to table television show began airing last weekend with new planned each week through the end of the year. 

  

Tractor tires are no small potatoes

Washington Grown’s goal is to connect consumers with those who grow and process their food. Each episode features farmers, local restaurants with outstanding recipes, and nutritional information about Washington’s crops. There are also frequently bonus features such as an inside look at food processing facilities. 

Here are the themes for October’s episodes:

Co-host Tomas practices his lassoing skills

• October 1 & 2 – Party Time
• October 8 & 9 – Beef
• October 15 & 16 – Raspberries
• October 22 & 23 – Women in Agriculture
• October 29 & 30 – Olympia Peninsula Seafood

Washington Grown can be viewed this fall on Northwest Cable News on Saturdays at 5:30 pm and on Sundays at noon and 8:30 pm. If you don’t get Northwest Cable News or if you miss a show, episodes are posted on Washington Grown’s website after the first airing. Washington Grown can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube. 

Path to industrial hemp program contains excitement and challenge

Emily Febles
Industrial Hemp Research Pilot coordinator

When House Bill 6206 became effective in June, Washington’s Industrial Hemp Research Pilot (IHRP) took its first steps on a long journey leading ultimately to planting a state crop that has not been seen in the state for over 70 years. This journey is beginning with thoughtful initial steps to create a stable base from which the program can grow into a robust industry. 

As with any trek, we will encounter challenges along the way. One of our first is obtaining a license from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to import industrial hemp seeds. Once we have a license, we will begin choosing the best certified seeds to start Washington’s program with high quality, dependable seed stock. We’ve already been in contact with some industrial hemp seed suppliers around the world. We hope these connections position Washington to plant in spring 2017. 

Along our way, we’re also creating new rules of the road. Travelers accompanying WSDA on this path are farmers, business operators, researchers, backyard growers, elected officials and others. By working together on rulemaking, we’ll design the most sustainable program to take us into the future. 

Learning and connecting on our way

Washington's Industrial Hemp Research Pilot coordinator, Emily
Febles, presenting at a WSU conference on Sept. 30

We’re already learning useful things along our way. For instance, I recently participated on a panel at a Washington State University forum focused on cannabis research opportunities. The opportunity allowed me to meet and build relationships with many WSU researchers and scientists who will be vital to meeting the research goals of this new program.

The federal government seems to have a growing acceptance of industrial hemp, when it’s grown in compliance with federal law. For example, the USDA recently released information on how to certify industrial hemp as organic and how universities can get federal funding to study industrial hemp agriculture.

I’ve been fortunate to meet and speak with many of you who are interested in building this new program. Interest and enthusiasm levels are high. I encourage anyone who wants to keep updated on the status of this historic voyage to email hemp@agr.wa.gov and join the IHRP email list. 

Together we’ll keep moving forward, one foot in front of the other.

Guest blog: ag industry should prepare for the Big One, too

Steven Friederich
Washington Military Department

Every October leaves change, the air grows cooler and for many in the agriculture industry, harvest season is coming to close before preparing for the upcoming winter months.

October also marks earthquake preparedness month across Washington State, and this year more than 1 million people will be practicing their drop, cover and hold on skills during the Great Washington ShakeOut earthquake drill at 10:20 a.m. on Oct. 20.

Practice May Save a Life

Brian Terbush, the earthquake/volcano program coordinator for the Washington Emergency Management Division, is asking farmers, ranchers and others in the ag industry to practice their earthquake preparedness skills on a date that works best for them if the typical third Thursday in October doesn’t pan out.

According to the state’s Emergency Management Division, practicing these emergency response skills helps build muscle memory. When the ground does start shaking, it’s better to automatically remember to drop, cover and hold on rather than panicking and bolting out the door or standing in place.

Registration helps us track the number of people participating, but isn’t required to practice your skills. You can show you are participating by registering at shakeout.org/washington/

Earthquakes on the Farm

So, what happens if you’re on a tractor or a combine in the middle of a field?

If you feel the earth start to shake, stop at a safe spot. Avoid power lines, trees, signs, buildings, vehicles and other hazards. Turn off the engine and stay in the farm equipment until the shaking stops. Similar advice goes for when driving a pickup or car, as well.

For cranberry farmers or others on the coast, once the shaking stops, head to high ground because a tsunami may be on the way. The state Department of Natural Resources offers tsunami inundation maps to help you figure out the safe routes to take and if your property is in a tsunami inundation zone.

Earthquakes in Food Processing Facilities

What if you’re in a processing facility or have a lot of machinery around?

The first step is to make sure your hazardous materials are properly labeled and to make sure you and your employees know where they are located ahead of time. Terbush suggests conducting periodic drills/orientations/walkthroughs with workers to point out and go over areas which may or may not be safe during an Earthquake, so that hopefully the knowledge of what is safe and unsafe to be near during an earthquake (just like we suggest staying away from windows and objects that could fall during an earthquake).  In addition, look to see if any equipment can be stabilized by being bolted to the walls, just like we suggest with water heaters in your home.

If there’s nowhere to duck under, get as low to the ground as possible and protect your neck with your hands. Quickly move to safety once the shaking stops, as aftershocks could be soon follow.

Business As Unusual After a Quake

Earthquakes can damage/destroy your business’ infrastructure and interrupt the delivery of resources your business depends on.

Tristan Allen, the state Emergency Management Division’s private industry program manager, says creating a business continuity plan that outlines your strengths and weaknesses is essential and provides some fundamental guidance for actions to be taken in the event of a disaster. Where would you operate if your physical facilities are damaged or destroyed? What is the plan if your distribution and supply chain are disrupted? The EMD’s Private Industry Program hosts a number of links on their website that may be of help.

Agriculture and the food industry are critical to our state's recovery after an earthquake. By preparing today, you'll not only potentially save the lives of loved ones and employees, but your business and the state will more quickly recover in the case of such a catastrophe.

Steven Friederich is a guest blogger from the Washington Military Department, where he is the Digital Media Coordinator.

What's up in your grill?

Karla Salp
Pest Program Outreach Coordinator

Have you ever looked at your vehicle’s grill and found a bee, butterfly or some other bug stuck there, unable to get out of the way as you cruised down the highway? Well, checking vehicle grills is just one of the less illustrious things our staff does at WSDA. Let me explain…

A primary way that many invasive pests enter Washington is by hitching rides when people move here from infested states, unwittingly transporting devastating pests into their new neighborhoods.
To protect our state, WSDA conducts periodic vehicle checks at weigh stations, collaborating with USDA Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance and the Washington State Patrol.

Together, we conducted one such check last month at two different weigh stations: Liberty Lake and Plymouth. Between the two locations, a total of 167 inspections were performed, including inspections of 19 moving trucks.

Japanese Beetle in a pickup grill

 One of the most common places to find invasive bugs is in the grill of the vehicle, and the inspected vehicles did not disappoint at this inspection. WSDA found Japanese Beetles – an invasive pest that has taken hold in the Eastern and Midwestern states – in the grills of several trucks.

But the grill isn’t the only place to find invasive pests, nor is it the most worrisome as those bugs are usually dead. Normally, the most threatening are items hauled from the infested location itself, like outdoor furniture. Some pests, like the gypsy moth, require a checklist to be completed if you are moving from a quarantined area to our beautiful state.

Luckily, no living invasive pests were detected in the latest operation. There were, however, several movers who either did not do the required checklist or whose checklists were incomplete.

If you or someone you know is moving to Washington from a gypsy moth quarantine area, make sure they check for gypsy moth egg masses and have their completed checklist. Everyone is welcome in Washington, but leave your bugs behind!

 

Special thanks to WSDA pest biologist Jenni Cena for the photos.

Now you see it, now you don’t: Northeastern forests in the wake of the gypsy moth outbreak

Karla Salp
Pest Program 

Cruising along the freeway in Connecticut, lush, mid-summer leafy green forests suddenly changed:  green leaves were sprouting from the trees like springtime and light was streaming through what should have been shady forests.

I pulled off at the next exit and confirmed my suspicions: gypsy moth females laying eggs on trees at my first stop.

The defoliation of the Northeastern forests has been astounding. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been completely defoliated by gypsy moth caterpillars – for the second year in a row.

Driving through Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts recently, I witnessed mile after mile of trees that, if not for the extreme heat and humidity, would have made one think it was March or April, rather than the end of July.

I didn’t go up in a plane, but I was able to obtain some aerial photos of the extent of the damage from the state agencies where the damage occurred:

Unlike our local tent caterpillars and fall webworms, gypsy moths have the capacity to defoliate entire forests. It was something to behold and I was glad to have to travel across the country to see it, rather than witnessing this damage in our own forests.