AgricultureID

State · US-WA

Washington

Washington splits sharply at the Cascades: a mild, warm-summer Mediterranean/oceanic west (Csb) and a dry interior ranging from cold semi-arid steppe (BSk) in the Columbia Basin to Mediterranean-influenced continental (Dsb) on the Palouse. The dry interior summers make irrigation and stored soil moisture decisive.

Major crop systems

  • Irrigated tree fruit — apples (the leading state), sweet cherries, and pears
  • Dryland wheat on the Palouse
  • Wine grapes, hops, potatoes, and irrigated forage

Major livestock systems

  • Dairy in the lower Yakima Valley and western lowlands
  • Cattle feeding and cow–calf

Agricultural land: The irrigated Columbia Basin and the Yakima, Wenatchee, and Okanogan valleys concentrate high-value tree fruit, wine grapes, hops, and potatoes, while the Palouse in the southeast is premier dryland wheat country. Irrigation: Irrigation is decisive east of the Cascades — the Columbia Basin Project and the Yakima River supply orchards, vineyards, and row crops — while the Palouse produces wheat on stored winter soil moisture.

Agroecological zones: Csb (Warm-summer Mediterranean), BSk (Cold semi-arid (steppe)), Dsb (Mediterranean-influenced continental)

Documented crops & livestock

Official institutions

  • Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) — State department for agriculture, plant and animal health, and marketing.
  • Washington State University (WSU) Extension — Land-grant research and extension for tree fruit, wheat, and irrigated crops.
  • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) — Official state-level crop, livestock, and Census of Agriculture statistics, published through its regional field office network.

Data coverage & limitations

Descriptive profile; subnational statistics for Washington are published by USDA NASS and the Washington State Department of Agriculture and are not reproduced numerically here.

  • Boundaries and administrative classification follow the ISO 3166-2 subdivision system and USDA/state reporting units.
  • No subnational statistics are reproduced here; any official figures are dated, versioned, and periodically revised — read them with their year and source.
  • The Köppen classification of the dry interior (BSk versus Mediterranean-influenced Ds types) varies between sources; the zones listed reflect the main agricultural districts.
  • The Cascade Range divides the state into a mild, wetter west and a dry, irrigation-dependent interior that a statewide profile cannot fully separate.

Agricultural authority

Verified against official government sources. AgricultureID is independent and not affiliated with these bodies.

  • Washington State Department of Agriculture

    State · Department

    Washington State Department of Agriculture is the first-order subnational public authority responsible for agriculture in Washington.

    Official websiteAll agricultural authorities

Soils documented by the official survey

The soil survey maps 2,032 named soil bodies in Washington, with surface pH from 3.8 to 10.1 and organic matter from 0.1% to 95.0%. The twenty appearing in the most mapped units are shown; each figure is the survey’s representative value for that soil body, not a measurement.

Soil bodies mapped in Washington, with representative surface properties from the official survey
Soil bodypHOrganic matter %Clay %DrainageMap units
Rock outcrop———Very poorly drained1,009in 45 survey areas
Rubble land—0.050Excessively drained112in 25 survey areas
AlderwoodInceptisols5.5–5.86.5–756–10Moderately well drained107in 14 survey areas
RitzvilleAridisols to Mollisols (the survey records both)6.5–8.21.25–1.57–14Well drained90in 13 survey areas
EverettInceptisols4.5–6.16–751–10Somewhat excessively drained88in 12 survey areas
QuincyEntisols7–8.20.4–1.52.5–3.5Excessively drained to Somewhat excessively drained70in 12 survey areas
WardenAridisols7–7.60.75–27.5–11.5Well drained66in 8 survey areas
AnatoneMollisols6.7–7.62.515–20Well drained65in 8 survey areas
ArgabakMollisols7.21.515–17.5Well drained65in 3 survey areas
ShanoAridisols7.2–7.60.75–1.57.5Well drained62in 8 survey areas
RocklyMollisols6.71.5–38–23.5Well drained61in 9 survey areas
RiverwashEntisols———Excessively drained to Somewhat poorly drained60in 38 survey areas
Walla WallaMollisols7–8.21.5–3.58.5–15Well drained55in 7 survey areas
HorseflatMollisols7.21.510.5–20Well drained48in 4 survey areas
NevineAndisols5.5–6.70.75–755–15Well drained48in 5 survey areas
DonavanMollisols5.5–6.71.5–758–15Well drained47in 5 survey areas
AthenaMollisols5.6–72–317.5–18Well drained46in 6 survey areas
BakeovenMollisols6.7–7.2220Well drained46in 12 survey areas
StarbuckAridisols7–7.60.75–1.56.5–11.5Well drained46in 11 survey areas
Lithic HaploxereptsInceptisols5.5–71.5–755–15Well drained44in 3 survey areas

These values describe soil bodies a survey has mapped, not samples taken in a particular field. A measurement on one farm may differ from the representative value of the map unit containing it.

AgricultureID does not infer crop suitability from soil observations. That a crop is grown where a soil occurs is not evidence that the soil suits it, and no such link is published without a source that makes it. How these observations are recorded.

Climate and drought

Drought assessment, week of 2026-08-25

assessment

71.6% of Washington’s land area was assessed as being in drought (D1 or worse) for the week of 2026-08-25 to 2026-08-31.

No category
6.4%
D0 · not drought
22.0%
D1
46.5%
D2
22.6%
D3
2.4%
D4
0.0%

D0 is abnormally dry and is counted separately: the Drought Monitor treats it as a precursor to drought and a category areas pass through while recovering.

The Drought Monitor is drawn each week by an author who weighs several indicators together with reports from local observers. It is an assessment of conditions, not an instrument reading, and each map applies to one week.

Climate normals, 1991–2020

normal

34 stations in Washington publish a full-standard 1991–2020 normal. Each describes its own site; none is an average for the state.

StationMean tempPrecipitationDays ≤ 32°F
ABERDEEN, WA US51.4°F84.94 in34.6
BATTLE GROUND, WA US50.9°F52.37 in70.2
BELLINGHAM 3 SSW, WA US51.9°F35.95 in43.3
BELLINGHAM INTL AP, WA US51.2°F34.71 in58.6
CEDAR LAKE, WA US46.7°F99.83 in86.0
CONCRETE PPL FISH STN, WA US50.7°F71.24 in47.3
COULEE DAM 1 SW, WA US49.9°F11.07 in120.3
DAYTON 1 WSW, WA US51.1°F18.79 in112.8

Eight of 34 stations shown.

A climate normal is what 1991–2020 averaged to at that station. It is not what any year was and not what any year will be; a season that matches it is ordinary, not forecast.

How these figures are produced, and what they do not say

Sources

This article draws on the following authoritative sources. See our sources & methodology for how they are selected.

  1. [1]USDA NASS — National Agricultural Statistics Service (opens in a new tab)

    USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Official state agricultural statistics

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12
  2. [2]USDA — U.S. Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

    United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

    Authoritative

    Cited for: Federal agricultural context

    Type:
    Government agency
    Jurisdiction:
    United States
    Accessed:
    2026-07-12