Archives

November 30, 2015 - Timber trends: From dismal to different

By Rick Sohn, PhD Umqua Coquille LLC Last month’s uncertainty for producers continues, but for homeowners and homebuilders, it could be a nice opportunity. Homebuilding is up, interest rates are down, and products are cheap. The weather is uncertain. Recent trends of lumber, home construction, and housing markets, are compared […]


November 25, 2015 - Sen. Whitsett: Wolf delisting also ends political abuse

by Sen. Doug Whitsett Some of the first governance meetings held in Oregon were convened in 1843, due to concerns over wolves killing livestock. It required more than 100 years of concerted effort before the last Oregon wolf was presented for bounty in 1946. Due entirely to their ill-advised reintroduction, […]


November 23, 2015 - OSU’s $2.7M effort against potato disease threat

By Oregon State University Extension Photo: This potato plant is severely infested with potato psyllids, carriers of zebra chip disease. Photo by Silvia Rondon Researchers at Oregon State University are teaming with colleagues in Washington and Idaho to help farmers combat an insect-transmitted disease that could devastate the Pacific Northwest’s […]


November 20, 2015 - GMOs save HI Farms & Forests from Extinction

 By American Farm Bureau Federation By Joni Kamiya More evidence is cropping up all the time to support the environmentally friendly nature of biotech seeds and crops. As we’ve learned in Hawaii, GM papayas are a great example of how biotechnology keeps forests intact and decreases the amount of pesticides […]


November 18, 2015 - What Wolf Delisting means for Oregon Ranchers

By Oregon Cattlemen’s Association Monday evening the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, in a 4-2 vote, decided to remove wolves from the state endangered species list. The question many are now posing is as follows: What in the world does a delisting mean? Todd Nash, a rancher from Enterprise Oregon […]


November 16, 2015 - Reaching youth on Ag

By Oregon Cattlemen’s Association In Oregon, many fear there is becoming a major problem when it comes to youth and agriculture. The problem? Many youth don’t understand what agriculture is or where their food comes from. The challenge? Finding a way to bring agriculture back to the classroom. One solution? […]


November 13, 2015 - Avg. farmer age up 10%. Who’ll replace them?

By Corn Commentary National Corn Growers Association “They keep farming even when their eyesight is failing and their hearts are going bad.” So starts a great story in the Minneapolis Star Tribune  regarding escalating farm accidents among older farmers. “They get back on their tractors after farm accidents have put […]


November 11, 2015 - The future of pot in Oregon

State Senator Doug Whitsett, Political coincidences are uncommon. Political accidents are even more exceptional. The seemingly piecemeal progression toward the legalization of marijuana in Oregon and other states has been well-planned and orchestrated, and could not be described as either an accident or a coincidence. It has also, unfortunately, lead […]


November 9, 2015 - Western farmers brace for El Nino storms

California Farm Bureau By Christine Souza Heavy downpours, potentially catastrophic flooding, mudslides, debris flows: Forecasters have begun issuing predictions about the possible impact in California from storms generated by the El Niño condition brewing in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Farmers around the state who have endured four years of drought […]


November 6, 2015 - Farming plagued by risk and loss

By Oregon Farm Bureau Noma, one of the world’s best restaurants known for its new Nordic cuisine, will close at the end of next year and reopen on a different site in Copenhagen as an urban farm. Chef René Redzepi says he wants to grow all the produce on his […]