Food and Agribusiness Lobbying Expenses According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, lobbyist disclosure filings in Congress reported lobbying expenses by food and agribusiness companies and trade associations and producer groups totaled $137,853,745 in 2012, up from $131,031,173 reported in 2011. Monsanto was the leading spender in […]

By Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries Can a native also be considered invasive? (photo: Eastern Oregon grassland with encroaching Western juniper. Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Agriculture). Dan Hillburn, administrator of the Oregon Department of Agriculture Plant Division, blogged on Saturday about the dilemma posed by Western juniper […]

By Oregon State University Extension office The invasive spotted wing drosophila is a major new fruit pest. (Photo by Lynn Ketchum) Growers can now easily identify and manage insects while in the field using smart phones and tablets with a new online tool developed by Oregon State University and partners. […]

By Christine Souza California Farm Bureau With theft of metals from farms and ranches remaining a chronic problem, farm groups and law enforcement organizations support several bills intended to tighten regulations and make resale of metal more difficult for thieves.In recent years, California farmers and ranchers have spent hundreds of […]

Research of Farming Use for Drones By Oregon Family Farm  Association Oregon State University plans on using unmanned aerial vehicles to research their use in monitoring and treating crops. OSU will use the drones to assess the health of the school’s potato crop and that of a commercial potato grower, […]

Blue Diamond Ending Salem Hazelnut Operation By Natural Resource News Note, Blue Diamond Growers is discontinuing the hazelnut operation at its packing plant in Salem and will put the plant up for sale. That will leave Oregon with four major hazelnut packers along with some smaller ones. The cooperative has […]

Ashland Considers Tax Increase for Watershed Thinning By Natural Resource News Note, Ashland city officials may raise property taxes to help fund the Ashland Forest Resiliency Project. The goal of AFR is to thin wildfire fuels on 7,600 acres of U.S. Forest Service land above Ashland, which includes portions of […]

Water damage is hitting nearly 30% of some local Oregon strawberry farms. The problem is due to a warm weather spell followed by unusually long spell of showers. Watch the KGW-TV 8 news clip.

Oregon Onion Farm Settles in Sexual Harassment Case By Oregon Family Farm Association River Point Farms in Hermiston, Oregon settled in a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit for $150,000 and agreed to implement other relief measures. The case was filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of […]

By Rick Sohn, Umpqua Coquille LLC Zillow’s average home value is up $10,000 from its 2011 low. Building permits broke 1 million, finally, and unsold inventories are at a 7-year low. Interest rates may be starting back up, but are still historically VERY low. Seven-year trend of lumber, logs, housing, […]