By Rick Sohn, p.H.D Umpqua Coquille LLC Log shortages keep prices very strong, with lumber steady to rising. Otherwise, the season and bad weather have slowed building and raised unsold inventory. Mortgage rates are creeping up. Recent lumber manufacturing, home construction, and housing markets are compared to 9 years ago. […]

By State Senator Herman Baertschiger, State Senator Herman Baertschiger (R-Grants Pass) commended Governor John Kitzhaber (D) for his help in efforts to re-open the recently shuttered Rough and Ready Lumber Mill. “I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the Governor was helping out this iconic southern Oregon company,” said Baertschiger. […]

By Oregon Congressman Greg Walden Greg Walden supports plan to reform wildfire budget U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced he has co-sponsored a bill to address perennial wildfire budget issues. The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act (H.R. 3992) aims to end the current practice of “fire borrowing,” using funds from fire […]

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association United States Reps. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.), Lee Terry (R-Neb.), Mike McIntyre (D-NC) and Jim Costa (D-Cal.) introduced legislation to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from disclosing the private and confidential information of livestock and poultry producers to the public. The Farmer Identity Protection Act (H.R. 4157) […]

OFS Legislative Report Oregonians for Food and Shelter Legislative Update from Scott Dahlman and Paulette Pyle Picture Becomes Clearer as Legislative Session Nears Finish While March 9th is the constitutional last day for the 2014 Legislative Session, the buzz around the Capitol is that the legislature could adjourn “Sine Die” […]

By Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries As reported recently in the Capital Press (Salem, Ore.), a proposal to reclassify neonicotinoids as “restricted use pesticides” has been removed from a bill currently before the Oregon Legislature. The classification would have meant that only licensed applicators could use the class of […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation, as part of a multi-industry coalition of 636 business organizations – 154 of them agriculture-related – today urged Congress to move forward with immigration reform this year. In a letter sent to House Republican leadership, the coalition noted that all […]

Oregon Farm Bureau OFB Legislative Bill Update The list below represents the bills still alive that Oregon Farm Bureau is monitoring. Support HB 4093: Creates public record exemption for written agreements relating to conservation of wild birds entered into voluntarily by owners or occupiers of land with soil and water […]

By State Representative Mike McLane OREGON HOUSE PASSES BILL GIVING AGRICULTURE GREATER CERTAINTY IN SEED AND CROP LAWS The Oregon House of Representatives passed SB 863, the Certainty for Family Farmers of Oregon Act, in an effort to provide Oregon’s farm economy greater certainty regarding seed and crop regulations. The […]

HB 4101: Oregon’s Timber tax  By Oregon Tax News The current Legislative Session features a bill (Hb 4101) that seeks to punish victims of previous environmental policies problems with additional taxes.  HB 4101 creates a severance tax on timber production that would go to fund county government as well as […]