Citing the "extremely troub­ling precedent" being set, 22 national, regional and state agricultural producer, commodity and agribusiness organizations last week urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to take immediate action to restore official grain inspection at the Port of Vancouver, Wash.

In a recent letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other key administration officials, the organizations cited a July 1 notice by the Washington...