Hundreds of local youth stay grounded through 4-H activities throughout the year and all of their hard work recently paid off at the Wasco County Fair - check out all the results right here and be sure to give some congrat pats on the backs of your friends and neighbors.

The Wasco County Fairgrounds will be hopping today as check-in for 4-H animals begins. Local kids have been working and learning for months in preparation for showing and selling their animals at the fair, which opens to the public on Thursday, Aug. 15 with Family Free Day. Temps are looking favorable, in the 80s the rest of the week, as the fair runs Aug. 15-18 in Tygh Valley.

The annual harvest is a major cash crop for the four-county area including Wasco, Gilliam, Sherman, and Morrow counties, which produces close to half of the 50 million bushels of wheat in Oregon. Cody Darnielle reported that 150 deliveries were made on Monday, July 15, in The Dalles as harvest moves into full swing.

“Who is Dolores Huerta? One of the most important, yet least known activists of our time.” —PBS.org.
The Columbia Gorge Food Security Coalition sold out a free community screening of “Dolores”, an inspiring documentary that explores the life and legacy of Latina community organizer, labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta on Thursday, Feb. 29.

This year’s cherry harvest is off to a slow start due to an unusually cool spring and summer weather. Orchardists report that high yields across the region are causing significant market impacts.

Get the latest update on grain and rain from OSU Extension Agents right here. Also, find a link to the entire May edition of the Mid-Columbia Farmer’s Newsletter. It’s packed with useful information and upcoming events.

If you are in Rufus or Wasco, OR this spring or summer, and notice more people out in their vegetable gardens, it may be due to the successful launch of the free Seed to Supper class in Rufus this spring! This 6-class program aimed at beginning or low-income adult gardeners was held at the Rufus Community Center (City Hall) on Monday mornings March 20th through April 2023. 

The first series will be held Mondays, 10am-noon at Rufus City Hall: March 20, March 27, April 3, April 10, April 17, April 24. The second series will be held Tuesdays, 6 pm-8 pm at the Sherman County Senior Center in Moro.