By Kurt Kipp, Daily Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries has announced that the state minimum wage will rise by 15 cents to $8.95 per hour, effective January 1, 2013. The annual wage hike is mandated by Chapter 653 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, […]

Business and Labor leaders to testify in support of shipping terminals and coal exports and a new radio ad featuring the Democratic co-speaker of Oregon House is released touting the benefits of coal export terminals to rural communities Alliance for Northwest Jobs & Exports Touting the job creation and tax […]

By Rick Sohn, Umpqua Coquille LLC Strong product prices and a Building Permits record high for this recovery are positive, while interest rates have hit bottom, and average home price gains are deceptive. Four-year market trends of lumber, logs, housing, and mortgage statistics are shown below. Interpretation.

By Curt Kipp Daily Digger Oregon Association of  Nurseries Pete Brentano, co-owner of Brentano’s Tree Farm LLC in St. Paul, Ore., has been appointed to the 10-member Oregon Board of Agriculture. Brentano has a long record of nursery industry involvement, including serving one year as president of the Oregon Association […]

As promised, the Renewable Fuels Association submitted an opinion piece for publication in the Wall Street Journal. After all, in a recent editorial, the Journal editorial staff said they were more than happy to give RFA President and CEO Bob Dinneen space to voice his opinion.Not surprisingly, the Journal rejected […]

by Cindy Corn Commentary National Association of Wheat Growers The corn harvest this drought-damaged year is running three times ahead of normal pace right now at 15% nationwide. On the state level, some numbers are simply unprecedented, like Missouri where 53% of the crop is harvested compared to 15% on […]

California Governor signs Timber Reform By California Farm Bureau Rural regions that rely on forests and timber sales will benefit from a bill signed by Governor Brown Tuesday. The new law gives forest landowners a longer window in which they can harvest timber under state-approved plans, and makes other reforms […]

By Oregon Forest Resource Institute The Malheur Lumber Company in John Day has been granted a reprieve from the closure that parent company Ochoco Lumber announced last month. The promise of private landowners to supply the mill with enough timber supply for a month or two to keep it open […]

EQC Considers Implementing 1000 ft. Pesticide Buffers By Oregonians for Food and Shelter August 9th, Nina Bell, on behalf of Northwest Environmental Advocates (NWEA), submitted a petition to the Environmental Quality Council (EQC) asking them to put pesticide buffers into rule. The petition would implement the terribly flawed National Marine […]

Oregon State University Extension Office A researcher at Oregon State University has reported Oregon’s first documented case of a “zombie” fly infecting a honeybee, but he doubts that the parasite at the moment poses a threat to the already beleaguered bee, which is a vital pollinator of some of the […]