By American Farm Bureau Federation One of the most important issues related to “big data” goes directly to property rights and who owns and controls farm-level data that may be collected, the American Farm Bureau Federation told Congress today. Risks to privacy that farmers face are of great concern, […]

By Oregon Department of Agriculture, New statistics indicate land use laws have helped, but prime ag land still at risk The loss of farmland in Oregon to development and other uses continues, but at a much reduced rate, according to the latest numbers from an inventory of land uses conducted […]

Oregon State Extension Service (Photo by Stephen Ward) Hundreds of farmers from throughout Oregon will gather in Corvallis this winter to improve their skills and get inspired for the next growing season. The 14th annual Oregon Small Farms Conference will take place Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. […]

By Cindy National Corn Growers Association In case you haven’t heard, lots of folks are droning on about the great potential for the use of drones in agriculture. The politically correct term is actually Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, or UAV, but drone still seems to be the preferred word, despite any […]

OSHA Targets Small Farms By Oregon Family Farm Association Since 1976, Congress has included specific language in appropriations bills which exempts family farms with less than 10 employees from OSHA regulations. By law, OSHA inspectors are prohibited from setting foot on those farms. However, a 2011 memo from OSHA’s Director […]

Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate Representative Jeff Reardon (D-Portland) plans to introduce a bill in the February 2014 Legislative Session that would add certain pesticides to the state’s restricted use list, effectively preventing the retail sale of products containing those chemicals to home gardeners.  Although the proposal will […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation By Stewart Truelsen Picture yourself in the future, the not too distant future, on a bright summer day. You are grilling hot dogs at a picnic with your family in a park. You pay little attention to the drone flying overhead. It’s probably a UPS […]

By National Farmers Union The National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson, under direction from the NFU Board of Directors, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House John Boehner calling for the 2014 Farm Bill to be called up and voted on this […]

By Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries Oregon gets a B- in invasive species management Oregon, as a whole, could be doing better in its fight against invasive species. That’s the verdict from the Oregon Invasive Species Council (OISC), which gave the state a B-minus on its annual Invasive Species […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation By Tracy Grondine While many of us spent December running from one holiday party and feast to the next, farmers were busy not only celebrating the season, but celebrating the Farm Bureau grassroots policy process leading up to the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 95th Annual […]