The Oregon Natural Resources Report - Agricultural News from Oregon

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon Foundation

An escalating trade war between the United States and China, along with tit-for-tat tariffs on imported goods, may curtail business in West Coast ports, reducing labor hours and creating a ripple effect throughout the Pacific Northwest economy.

The latest volley in the trade war brings the battle to the Pacific Northwest home front, especially its ports.

Astoria Forest Products loaded a bulk carrier with 5.5 million board feet of timber headed for China, but The Daily Astorian reported that it may be the last such ship leaving the Port of Astoria after China imposed a 10 percent tariff on log imports. Uncertainty over increasing tariffs has put log ship contracts for next year on hold, according to Chad Niedermeyer, yard manager for Astoria Forest Products. China imposes 5 percent tariffs on Douglas fir and hemlock and 10 percent on spruce and grand fir, but those numbers are likely to increase to 25 percent as the trade war escalates.

By Oregon Sportsmen Association,

People who organize or participate in fishing derbies or hunting competitions could be fined $6,250 and face up to 364 days in jail if a bill introduced in the Oregon State Senate passes.

The extreme bill, backed by the Humane Society of the United States, would end all hunting and fishing tournaments and criminalize participation in any event that involves killing wildlife for prizes or entertainment.

Hunters, anglers, and other Oregon sportsmen who care about maintaining hunting rights are urged to contact their legislators and ask them to vote no on SB 723.  The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends hunting, fishing, and trapping pursuits that raise the money to pay for America’s wildlife conservation programs.

By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Center for Public Policy today released new Cost/Benefit Principles that will help guide its decision-making process on various policy proposals regarding climate change.

Photo: Dwight Hammond after his Presidential pardon.
By Oregon Family Farm Association,

A Burns, Ore., rancher convicted of unlawful field-burning that burned federal land was pardoned by President Trump in July and now has received a 10-year renewal of their grazing permit.

In one of his last moves before stepping down from office, former Interior Secretary Ryan K. Zinke ordered renewal of the grazing permit for Hammond Ranches Inc. through 2024. That’s a decade after the federal Bureau of Land Management refused to renew the permit because of their past criminal convictions.

By Oregon Sportsmen Association,

Gun owners in Oregon will see their rights eroded significantly under a proposed Senate bill that would outlaw weapons capable of firing more than five rounds and limit the purchase of ammunition to no more than 20 rounds a month.

The bill was proposed by Sen. Rob Wagner of Tualatin, who was backed in his campaign by New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety, and Rep. Andrea Salinas of Lake Oswego. The law would impose the nation’s harshest restrictions on gun owners. The law is so restrictive that it would ban the use of most rifles and semi-automatic pistols in use today. Limiting the amount of ammunition sold would handicap gun owners’ ability to train and practice. State Representative Bill Post’s office commented “It also hurts game hunters as in some cases, the bag limit is more than 20 rounds. Duck Hunters should be very wary of the bill”. Post further stated, “[Y]our old six shot revolver would be required to be turned in or destroyed.”

By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA)  released its official Policy Priorities for 2019. The release came as approximately 10,000 members of the cattle industry joined together for its annual convention and NCBA Trade Show, which is being held this week in New Orleans.

This year’s Policy Priorities include a mix of familiar and new issues for the industry, and while the group will engage on a wide variety of policy issues (click here to read NCBA’s full policy book) the organization in 2019 will focus on four main issue areas:

Partnership for Oregon Communities,

Partnership for Oregon Communities released the following statement upon release of cap and trade legislation by the Joint Carbon Reduction Committee.

“The bill released is the start of what we hope will be a robust conversation about the costs and benefits of a cap and trade program in Oregon. At this point, there are dozens of unanswered questions about how this bill will impact employers, consumers and whether the program would be an effective tool in accomplishing our shared goal of continuing to improve Oregon’s environment.

Lawmakers’ next step should be to give every Oregonian a fair and equal opportunity to share their thoughts and shape this policy moving forward, and to hear from the industries that will be most impacted by this program. Cap and trade is perhaps one of the most complex pieces of legislation the Oregon Legislature has ever considered. Inevitably there will be significant costs to all Oregonians, and this policy deserves a full and thorough vetting before it advances any further.”

— The legislation does not have an official bill number. You can see the Legislative draft bill version entitled LC 894 here that was released last week at the Oregon Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction hearing on February 1, 2019.

By Oregon Family Farm Association,

Here is a bill watch on the latest happening in the Legislature. HB 2437 would allow farmers to clean out 3000 cubit yards of dirt per mile of drainage in wetland areas. This would be up from 50 cubit yards of dirt. The Capital Press reports several environmentalist spoke against the bill saying it would interfere with fish habitat while Ag groups spoke in favor.

Here is the House Bill summary:

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter,

The House Environment and Energy Committee introduced another neonicotinoid ban bill that contains the identical language as HB-2619. This duplicative bill has not yet been released in bill form with a number.

Related, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters posted their priorities in the session, which included a section on pesticides and stated:

By American Farm Bureau Federation,

Farmers and ranchers are on the front lines of the fight against internet hucksters and food faddists. Even so, respectful media relationships and an empathetic approach can help win the day, agricultural journalists Brian Winnekins and Sabrina Hill told farmers and ranchers at a workshop at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 100th Annual Convention.

Trust, the two journalists said, underlies all successful media relations.