Debt Deal Enacted, But Final Ag Cuts Won’t Be Known for Months Wheat Growers-National Leaders in Congress and the Obama Administration struck a deal this week to avert a government debt default, but how exactly the agreement’s spending cuts will affect agricultural programs won’t be known for a number of […]

Outbreak: Local farmers resold berries as their own Natural Resource News Note: The latest in the investigation of the Washington County E. Coli outbreak shows that tainted berries may have involved illegal reselling of berries. Food safety officials have been working the trail which went from Jaquith Strawberry Farms to […]

Slow summer puts crops, Oregon farmers at risk Natural Resource News Note: Oregon’s wetter and cooler than average July may have been enticing to those across the country suffering from record-breaking heat waves, but it’s left Oregon farmers bracing for low yields and economic losses come harvest time. In the […]

by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers Highway Drivers See New Sign: Highway travelers driving east on US 26 between Portland and the Seaside coast will now see a large sign explaining the salvage harvest and planting of the massive 2007 timber blowdown. Oregon Forest Resources Institute navigated […]

Fresh strawberries from Washington County farm implicated in E. coli O157 outbreak in NW Oregon By Oregon Health Authority PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon Public Health officials have identified fresh strawberries from a Newberg farm as the source of a cluster of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections that sickened at least 10 people last […]

By Rick Sohn, Umpqua Coquille LLC Fundamental improvement is steady, led by increased housing starts, and lower unsold inventory and interest rates. Five years ago, interest rates tipped us into an inevitable downturn. See below for details and a six-year span of prices and analysis of lumber, logs, housing, and […]

By American Forest Resource Council In this newsletter 1. Interior Budget Moves 2. County Payments Hearing 3. Owl Recovery Plan 4. Forest Service Timber Sale Program 5. BLM Pilot Project Update 6. Northwest Forest Plan – Mendocino 7. Job Creation 8. EPA Softens on Biomass 9. Insect Mortality Expands 10. […]

By Mace Thornton California Farm Bureau Federation Producing a bounty of U.S.-grown food to sell and share beyond our borders remains a matter of deep pride to America’s farmers and ranchers. A growing body of evidence suggests, however, that Americans who do not farm or ranch really don’t give a […]

Higher Energy Prices Hitting Farmers’ Bottom Line By National Farm Bureau Federation WASHINGTON, D.C., July 26, 2011 – While farmers are benefiting from positive commodity prices, rising production costs remain a concern, according to economists with the American Farm Bureau Federation. “These are encouraging times for the U.S. farm economy,” […]

Hazelnut farmers recycle empty shells for hazelnut drying By Stephanie Page Oregon Department of Agriculture This coming fall, Steve and Karla Heesacker will not have to purchase propane to dry hazelnuts at their Forest Grove farm and drying facility. Instead they will use an agricultural resource in ample supply—“blank” hazelnut […]