By Washington Association of Conservation Districts, A letter is being circulated by someone purporting to be from the USDA seeking personal financial information from USDA contractors. To see this letter, please click here. fraudulant letter requesting personal information If you receive such a letter, do not respond. Instead, let Dennis […]

By Michael Gelardi Davis, Dwight & Tremaine LLP Oregon law firm A budgetary earmark passed by the 2012 Oregon legislature allows three southern Oregon counties to move forward with efforts to rezone local farm and forest lands for other uses. In order to rezone land, however, the counties must first […]

Wolf Delisting Update Washington Farm Bureau March 16, 2012 In a great decision issued by the 9th Circuit , the court ruled that Congress can indeed delist a species. In a rider to a budget bill last April, Congress ordered the delisting of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population. This […]

Retail sales improve in February By Curt Kipp, Dailyu Digger Oregon Association of Nurseries Retailers — particularly those geared toward the outdoor lifestyle — did much better in February than they did a year ago, according to new figures released by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The numbers indicate that […]

By Rex Storm Associated Oregon Loggers Too Little Murrelet Habitat Contested: On January 19th, three environmental groups filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the state of Oregon for alleged federal violations of the Endangered Species Act. The notice claims that logging in the Elliott, Tillamook and Clatsop state […]

OSU ag dean leaving for DC post By Kurt Kipp Oregon Association of Nurseries Sonny Ramaswamy, the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University, is leaving. President Obama has appointed him as the new director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). NIFA replaced […]

Wheat President Calls for Farm Bill Reauthorization By Sept. 30 National Association of Wheat Growers NAWG President Erik Younggren called on Congress Thursday to approve new farm policy legislation before the 2008 Farm Bill expires on Sept. 30. Testifying before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee on safety net […]

AFBF Supports Farm Truck Measures in Transportation Bill By American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation is supporting measures to make certain farm vehicles exempt from federal motor vehicle regulations that are appropriately aimed at the long-haul trucking industry. AFBF is urging senators to support two amendments to […]

Merkley, DeFazio Introduce Bill to Ensure Americans Get Hired for Forest Work — Legislation Will Reform Temporary Visa Program Sen. Jeff Merkley, Congressman Peter DeFazio Press Release Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio introduced The American Jobs in American Forests Act to tighten restrictions on a visa program […]

By Oregon Farm Bureau Legislative Wrap-up On Monday, March 5, 2012, the first annual even-year “short” session adjourned. While Legislative leadership limited the number of bills introduced, the scope and size of the issues were large and encompassing. This made many in and out of the Capitol wonder if 35 […]