Fruit farming
Carl Goodwin, manager of Seattle Sausage, takes a water break while selling bottles of water to baseball fans leaving the Mariners game on a warm Wednesday afternoon, June 23, 2021, in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle. Forecasts say extreme heat will roast the Puget Sound region from Saturday through Monday. (Amanda Snyder/The Seattle Times via AP)
Portland records hottest day ever amid Northwest scorcher

By Sara Cline And Rebecca Boone Jun. 25, 2021 06:35 PM EDT

A retiree receives the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine from a health worker inside a tent, during a mass vaccination program for the elderly at the clinic outside Johannesburg, South Africa, Monday, May 24, 2021. South Africa is in a race against time to vaccinate as many people as possible with signs the virus may be surging again. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
South Africa starts jabs for elderly as virus surge looms

By Andrew Meldrum May. 28, 2021 04:16 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 1, 2021 file photo Gov. Greg Gianforte receives a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from pharmacist Drew Garton at a Walgreen's pharmacy, in Helena, Mont. Gianforte has tested positive for COVID-19. The Republican governor's office released a statement Monday, April 5, 2021 evening saying that after experiencing mild symptoms a day earlier, Gianforte was tested "out of an abundance of caution." The first lady, who has not exhibited symptoms, has been tested and is awaiting her results. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, file)
The Latest: Montana governor tests positive for COVID-19

By The Associated Press Apr. 05, 2021 02:28 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 21, 2021, file photo, Hispanic farm workers wait in line to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in Mecca, Calif. Volunteers in California are working to ensure that the thousands of farmworkers who toil in the fields every day are receiving coronavirus vaccinations. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
California targets critical farmworkers for vaccinations

By Olga R. Rodriguez And Daisy Nguyen Apr. 03, 2021 11:14 AM EDT

Liz Pace poses with a photo of her grandfather Worthen Jackson, a caretaker of the Capitol Reef Orchards over 50 years ago, on Thursday, March 4, 2021, at Capitol Reef National Park, in Fruita, Utah. Pace, came to Capitol Reef National Park orchards to discuss a proposed orchard rehabilitation plan. (K. Sophie Will/The Spectrum via AP)
Capitol Reef wants to revive orchards as visitors increase

K. Sophie Will Mar. 13, 2021 08:00 AM EST

FILE - In this May 12, 2020, file photo, farmworkers harvest beans during the coronavirus outbreak in Homestead, Fla. Many U.S. health centers that serve agricultural workers across the nation are receiving COVID-19 vaccine directly from the federal government in a program created by the Biden administration. But in some states, farmworkers are not yet in the priority groups authorized to receive the shots. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
Clinics wait to vaccinate farmworkers: 'Our hands are tied'

By Carla K. Johnson Mar. 10, 2021 12:02 PM EST

Customers wearing face masks to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, measure the height of a peach blossom tree at a farm located at Hong Kong's rural New Territories on Jan. 14, 2021. The Lunar New Year holiday is usually a busy period for flower farms in Hong Kong, which gear up to sell plum blossoms, orchids and daffodils at flower markets during the festive season. But the pandemic and restrictions on such festive markets this year has taken a toll on many farms, who worry that they may be left with an oversupply of flowers. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Flower farms see their Lunar New Year sales wilted by virus

Alice Fung And Nicole Ko Feb. 02, 2021 10:41 PM EST

Evans Fruit fined $150K for workplace COVID-19 violations

Jan. 28, 2021 08:10 AM EST
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — The state Department of Labor & Industries has issued a $150,000 fine to a Yakima Valley fruit grower and processor for violating...

A Hispanic farm worker receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Mecca, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. The farmworkers who got their shots are among the millions of immigrants around the United States, who advocacy groups warn may be some of the most difficult people to reach during the largest vaccination campaign in American history. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Language barriers, wariness make vaccinating immigrants hard

Eugene Garcia, Suman Naishadham And Anita Snow Jan. 22, 2021 02:19 PM EST

FILE - In this June 16, 2020, file photo, workers at an orchard put on equipment as they prepare to thin apple trees in Yakima, Wash. The agriculture industry is asking Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee to move migrant farmworkers and food factory workers closer to the front of the line for the coronavirus vaccine because they perform work that cannot be delayed or performed remotely. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
Ag industry wants farmworkers prioritized for vaccinations

By Nicholas K. Geranios Jan. 15, 2021 02:34 PM EST

Marijuana is now Maine's biggest agricultural commodity

Dec. 08, 2020 08:19 AM EST
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine is known for its wild blueberries and potatoes but marijuana has surpassed them to become the state’s most valuable crop. ...

Virus outbreak affects dozens of strawberry harvest workers

Oct. 12, 2020 05:23 PM EDT
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — Nearly 60 incoming seasonal contract strawberry harvest workers for Planasa Oregon Operations LLC on Short Road in Klamath Falls...

Orchards reopens after outbreak; Vermont plans jury trials

Oct. 12, 2020 08:10 AM EDT
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Champlain Orchards in Addison County has reopened after an outbreak of the coronavirus infected more than two dozen of its seasonal...

Outbreak among apple pickers increases by 1 to 28

Oct. 08, 2020 09:40 AM EDT
An outbreak of the coronavirus among migrant apple pickers at an orchard in Addison County has grown by one case to 28, Champlain Orchards said Thursday. ...

NMSU joins handful of colleges with new signature wine

By Susan Montoya Bryan Oct. 08, 2020 01:30 AM EDT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico State University on Thursday joined Wake Forest, James Madison and a handful of other schools in the U.S. that have their...

Apples hang from at tree at Anderson Orchard, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, Mooresville, Ind. During what would normally be primetime for Midwest apple-picking, orchards around Indiana are running out of apples early this season following a late spring freeze that obliterated much of the state’s crop. (AP Photo/Casey Smith)
Late freeze shortens fall apple season for Indiana orchards

By Casey Smith Oct. 05, 2020 10:06 AM EDT

Wearing protective masks, women stand in line to enter the Grand Mosque of Touba as they take part in the celebrations of the Grand Magal of Touba, Senegal, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, thousands of people from the Mouride Brotherhood, an order of Sufi Islam, are gathering for the annual religious pilgrimage to celebrate the life and teachings of Cheikh Amadou Bamba, the founder of the brotherhood. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The Latest: Michigan issues mask requirement, other measures

By The Associated Press Oct. 05, 2020 01:15 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2019, file photo, from left, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., and Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, walk to a closed Democratic Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Schrier is trying to hold onto her seat after becoming the first Democrat to represent Washington's 8th Congressional District since it was founded in the early 1980s. Schrier faces Republican newcomer Jesse Jensen, an Army veteran from Bonney Lake who did four combat tours in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Rep. Kim Schrier tries to retain seat against GOP newcomer

By Gene Johnson Oct. 02, 2020 01:40 PM EDT

Alexandra Ichim, a 20-year-old Romanian, works during a grape harvest in Rocca de Giorgi, Italy, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020. Though from a Romanian region famed for its wine, Ichim had never worked in vineyards before traveling to Italy's Lombardy region for the September grape harvest, known in Italian as the vendemmia — the pay is too low in Romania and the working conditions too harsh, she says. Instead, the 20-year-old came on a 12-hour bus ride and returned by plane to her native Arad region when the harvest was done. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Harvest workers among COVID world's last regular travelers

By Lori Hinnant Oct. 02, 2020 03:41 AM EDT

Farmer Nicanor Tasaico shows newly formed "quebranta" grapes, used to make non-aromatic or "pure" Pisco, at his vineyard in Ica, Peru, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020. More than 500 Pisco producers have seen their sales collapse by half and thousands of grape growers have had their fields ruined because of the late harvests, because of the strict lockdown implemented to stop COVID-19. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Pandemic takes toll on business of pisco producers in Peru

By Franklin Briceño Oct. 01, 2020 12:41 PM EDT