Washington Bee Atlas and AFBF Offers Solutions
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update
**After its second full year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s Washington Bee Atlas has collected and identified records of nearly 30 new or rare bee species in the state.
Seventeen species were new state records, meaning they’re the first known records of finding the bee in Washington.
WABA also found 12 species which had not been recorded in the state for at least 50 years, one most recently recorded in 1882.
**American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall offered a variety of solutions for increasing demand for U.S.-grown agricultural goods before the Senate Ag Committee.
He joined several other ag leaders to share priorities and address a structural imbalance that threatens both farmers’ livelihoods and food security.
The solutions offered include authorizing year-round E15, modernizing farm labor programs, and improving programs to enable schools and the military to purchase directly from local farms.
**The USDA has allocated over $6 billion in Farmer Bridge Assistance Programs payments.
Rates for specialty crops under the program are due in early April.
Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Vaden told Politico he believes we’ll have those payment rates in place by early next month.
Senate Ag Chair John Boozman told Bloomberg he’s calling for new federal aid to farmers in the wake of a price hikes in gasoline, diesel, and fertilizer.
