A big part of the cowboy culture is the music that celebrates the West; the trail drives, the danger and the romance of the life.

Most local Bing cherry growers are still waiting for enough warm weather to finish ripening their crop, even with the month of July less than a week away.

Pictured: Bing Cherries will be ready to pick by the end of this week in Lower Valley. Courtesy photo

Who can think of June and not think of roses? Even the word congers up the scent of them, and it would be a rare garden indeed that did not contain at least one rosebush.  But it is a far cry from the average rosebush to the beauties seen in rose gardens such as the test garden at the Seattle Zoo.

The last six months of 2008 have been one of the greatest shows on earth! No movie, Superbowl, Olympics, Brad and Angelina, Brittany Spears or Royal Birth can compare to the spectacular, outrageous, full-blown television advertising windfall officially referred to as the Presidential Primaries.

Cool spring weather has slowed the growth of this year’s mint crops, but overall acreage is expected to increase slightly, and prices are moving upward, according to information from the Washington Mint Growers Association.

The Washington Wheat Commission approved a record budget May 14, when the grower-elected board of directors approved spending nearly $6.6 million, according to a commission news release.

“You can die of good intentions”

That is the best summary I can give of an editorial I read recently about the bill to ban horse slaughter that was passed last year.

Pictured: Mike Turner––Champion Heavyweight Steer––Grand Champion Steer––Reserve Champion Fitting and Showing

In a block of young Gala apple trees a few miles from Wapato last week, a field trial took place that could have a big impact on labor demands––and sustainable profitability––for soft-fruit growers in the valley.

Pictured: The Darwin mechanical thinner is guided down a row of three-year-old Gala apple trees during a field trial near Wapato last week. Staff photo

I was at the Governor’s Ag Conference in Dover, Delaware recently.  My column runs in the Delmarva Farmer.  Bruce, the publisher asked me…well, here’s how he put it:

“A debate is raging here about which tastes better, grass or grain fed beef.  What do you think?”Grass versus grain-fed beef