US House Passes Legislation to End “Man-Made Drought” in California by National Cattlemen’s Beef Association The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act (H.R. 1837) in a bipartisan vote of 246 to 175. The legislation, introduced by Congressman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), will end a “man-made […]

Crumbling Locks and Dams Endanger Farmer Profitability Deteriorating condition of the U.S. lock and dam system puts the competiveness of U.S. soybean farmers at risk according to a soybean checkoff funded study. By Soybean Transportation Coalition The study, “America’s Locks & Dams: A Ticking Time Bomb for Agriculture,”highlights how farmers […]

Draft Spotted Owl Critical Habitat Rule Continues Administration’s Failed Forestry Policies American Forest Research Council The timber industry is unimpressed with the Obama Administration’s latest efforts to cloak its failed forest policies in the rhetoric of forest restoration, jobs and old growth protection. In a press conference, Interior Secretary Ken […]

Oregon marine reserves greatly expanded By Oregon Sportsmen Association Oregon’s state senate approved a new marine reserve bill, thereby creating three additional protected areas extending for three miles off the state’s coast (and giving the state a total of five such protected areas). One caveat: the protection doesn’t actually start […]

Forest Policy Briefs by Rex Storm Associated Oregon Loggers False Media Reports of Rule Change: Early January’s news media reports erroneously stated that, “…the Oregon Board of Forestry decided to strengthen the state’s logging regulations to better protect water quality in streams. The board voted to revise the state Forest […]

Legislative Update: Water Bill, Wolf Bill & Farm Tax Credit By Oregon Farm Bureau Water is for fighting……..Oregon Farm Bureau entered the February session with one mission: to promote policies that directly relate to economic growth in the natural resources sector. We are disappointed with inability to agree on policies […]

Create jobs by increasing state timber harvests Rep. Sal Esquivel Press Release Oregon’s most abundant resource, timber, is being underutilized. This lack of productivity has hurt Oregon’s economy and our rural communities. The federal government owns 60 percent of Oregon’s forest land, and many in Southern Oregon understand that Washington […]

Corn Commentary National Corn Growers Association Bill Gates, respected for his visionary work as founder of both Microsoft and the philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, called for a new digital revolution . This time, instead of promoting software to improve office productivity, he passionately advocated for application of the […]

Ahead of Senate Hearing, Groups Call for Farm Bill This Year By National Association of Wheat Growers The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee held the first farm bill hearing of the year this week, focusing on energy and rural development issues. The hearing included testimony from Secretary of Agriculture […]

Federal Court Validates Cattlemen’s Concerns on EPA’s Scientifically Shoddy Approach by NCBA — Court Rules Components of EPA Criteria for Florida Nutrient Standards Arbitrary and Capricious National Cattlemen’s Beef Association  The Florida Cattlemen’s Association (FCA) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) on April 28, 2011, challenged the Environmental Protection […]