Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The White House said Friday it would spend an additional US$110 million to help farmers and communities in western states hit hard by drought and wildfires. The drought has affected a third of the western United States, and President Barack Obama was slated to discuss it with western governors in a […] Read more

Western states to get US$110M in drought aid

No relief in sight for U.S. West’s drought in spring outlook
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Drought pressures will increase in California and western areas of the U.S. this spring even as the dry season begins, the government’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. “Periods of record warmth in the West and not enough precipitation during the rainy season cut short drought relief in California this winter and […] Read more
New Washington poultry quarantine set up near B.C. border
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The state of Washington said Tuesday it has established a third poultry quarantine zone just outside British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, after state officials discovered a flock of about 100 birds infected with an avian influenza virus. The Washington State Department of Agriculture adopted an emergency rule on Sunday to establish the new quarantine […] Read more

Canada blocks poultry, eggs from U.S. Northwest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Birds, eggs and poultry products from Washington and Oregon are being kept out of Canada after findings of high-path avian flu in a pair of backyard flocks in those states. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Dec. 24 reported highly pathogenic (“high-path”) H5N2 avian flu in a backyard free-range flock of geese, turkeys, chickens, ducks […] Read more