National Cattlemen’s Beef Association:  WASHINGTON (August 3, 2009) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) praised legislation introduced by Congressmen Mike Thompson (D-CA) and John Salazar (D-CO) that would provide farmers and ranchers relief from the death tax.  HR 3524, the Family Farm Preservation and Conservation Estate Tax Act, would […]

By Natural Resource Report, Like many government programs the US Department of Agriculture’s, Nation Animal Identification System (NAIS) begins with voluntary participation but many fear participation will become mandatory.  The NAIS tracks animals electronically using microchips attached to the animal’s ear.  Installed shortly after birth, animals can be followed throughout […]

By Oregon Small Business Association, A federal appeals court recently over turned rules established by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Bush administration that allowed power plants and factories to emit pollution over established limits if those entities bought pollution credits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit […]

Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program Awards Century Status to 19 Farms & Ranches in 2009 By Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation, (Salem, Or) – At an annual awards ceremony at the Oregon State Fair, families from across the state will receive recognition for operating as a Century Farm or Century […]

By Rick Sohn, Umpqua Coquille LLC Lumber prices have gone up 25% this month!  Unsold home inventories and national homebuilding rates are moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Logs have remained stable, moving up slightly. This is all good news, relatively speaking.  See the 3-year price comparisons for lumber, […]

Bureau of Land Management, Vale, Oregon –August 2nd thru August 3rd. Powerful thunderstorms moved through eastern Oregon today igniting several fires throughout the Vale District of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The District received hundreds of lightning strikes starting Sunday afternoon and continued into the late evening/early morning. The […]

Governor signs bill protecting nurseries against unfair hoop house tax By Oregon Association of Nursries, Wilsonville, Ore – The Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN) and its more than 1,300 members are grateful that Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a bill protecting nurseries against the threat of an unfair new tax, OAN […]

According to the Columbian Newspaper, “The Army Corps of Engineers last week awarded a $52 million contract to a California-based contractor to finish deepening the Columbia River’s shipping channel by three feet to a minimum depth of 43 feet.J.E. McAmis Inc., based in Chico, Calif., will begin the contract in […]

By Oregon Department of Forestry, Oregon’s timber harvests continued to decline in 2008, with a total harvest of 3.44 billion board feet. The total cut decreased nine percent from the 2007 harvest volume of 3.80 billion board feet. “These are the lowest harvest levels we have seen in Oregon since […]

American Farm Bureau Federation: Policy differences, funding shortage slow health care reform In a rush to meet President Obama’s demand for Congress to pass health care reform before the August recess, or at least not too long afterward, the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week held two straight days […]