A Wapato winery has won a Platinum Medal in “Wine Press Northwest” magazine’s 10th annual judging of “The Best of the Best” of Northwest wines.  
Windy Point Vineyards received the award for its 2005 Cabernet Franc.

The first annual Washington-Oregon Potato conference will take place in late January in the Tri-Cities.

The Toppenish Rodeo will be back in the saddle next year, but the particulars are not yet clear.

Officials from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency have announced a portion of its farm loan program funds are specifically allocated for minority and women producers.

The Toppenish Junior Rodeo Association had its annual steak and oyster fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Toppenish American Legion. The event raised more than $300  for the local junior rodeo, which takes place each year in August. Junior Rodeo officials said the money be used to purchase belt buckles and saddles for the 2010 Toppenish Junior Rodeo champion winners. Pictured above: Dave Mackie, a member of the Toppenish Junior Rodeo Association board, cooks steaks to order during the event.

Even though the total attendance for the 2009 Central Washington State Fair was down about two percent from last year, fair officials were still very happy with this year’s attendance, given the many obstacles that occurred.

Five Zillah High School FFA members have taken up the challenge to prepare the school’s first landscaping entry in the Central Washington State Fair.

A pair of mechanical harvesters make their way through a raspberry field in the Lower Valley last week. The machines make a number of passes through the fields as the summer progresses and the fruit gradually ripens. The shallow blue trays stacked on the back of the machine hold the berries after they’re picked.

Those of you who watch television appreciate the increasing presence of ‘hard-sell, direct-buy’ commercials on the cable and satellite networks.  The pitch involves an inventive but cheaply produced product like squeegees, stick-on light bulbs, sunglasses, vegetable choppers, political promises and collision chasing lawyers.

So, what’s the difference between riding a mechanical bull and riding a real one?” asked the boy of his dad.