Oregon net farm income shows moderate rise in 2010 — Nursery sales are still down, slowing net farm income growth — Farmers & ranchers begin to bounce back from a bad 2009 By Oregon Department of Agriculture After a dismal 2009, the bottom line for Oregon’s farmers and ranchers last […]

CALIFORNIA: Economy and weather put the squeeze on wine grape supply, survey finds Cool weather and a damaging freeze in the Central Coast have significantly reducing this year’s wine grape yield in California, according to GSM professor emeritus Robert Smiley. By University of California Davis The sluggish economy and unusually […]

by Richard Goldfarb Stoel Rives LLP, NW Law Firm Food Liability Law Blog It’s the battle of the network talking heads, M.D. division.  In this corner, Dr. Mehmet Oz, host of the Dr. Oz Show on FOX, and former Oprah Winfrey contributor.  In the other corner, Dr. Richard Besser, former […]

By Curt Kipp, Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries Oregon’s minimum wage will go up by 30 cents per hour at the end of the year, state Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian announced this month. The new amount will be $8.80 per hour, starting on Jan. 1, 2012. The hike matches […]

From the Department of Agriculture

PLC, NCBA and ICA Granted Authority to Defend Ranchers in Court Room By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association WASHINGTON – The U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, yesterday, Sept. 22, 2011, granted the Public Lands Council (PLC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) and the Idaho Cattle Association (ICA) intervenor status […]

Obama and Boehner Look to Expand Super Committee’s Task BY National Association of Wheat Growers President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) both added to the super committee’s already-considerable to-do list, while the director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said the panel must decide on any substantial […]

Natural Resource News Note: Wolves, once hunted to extinction in the lower 48, are making a comeback, reports the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Rancher Denny Johnson complains that the predators have killed five of his cattle since last fall, including bull worth $5,000. “We’re not raising cattle for the government zoo,” he […]

Forest Policy Briefs (Excerpts) by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers State Timber Protestors: The self-proclaimed “Cascadia Forest Defenders” failed in previous State Forest illegal protests two and ten years ago, during which dozens of people were quickly arrested. Quick arrest and dispersal is key to discouraging such […]

A Dam Important Find! North America’s Earliest Beaver Discovered in Oregon By Bureau of Land Management Oregon PORTLAND, Ore. – A new fossil find represents the earliest record of living beavers (Castor) in North America. A pair of teeth was found on BLM land near Dayville, Oregon by BLM staff […]