By Oregon Family Farm Association, Willamette Valley vintners who suffered smoke damage to their grape crops in years past face more serious threats this year—the destruction of their crops by wildfires. Dry weather and wind fueled wildfires throughout Oregon, Washington and California this fall, including the 875-acre Chehalem Mountain-Bald Peak […]

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter, Last week, we received news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made revisions to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ), which is a component of the Worker Protection Standard. The AEZ applies specifically to an agricultural operation; it is the exclusion zone around a […]

By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation to improve the marketing environment for cattle producers. Introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD.) and bipartisan cosponsors, the Price Reform in Cattle Economics (PRICE) Act addresses several areas of critical importance for cattle […]

Josh Lehner, Oregon office of Economic Analysis When the fires were raging and the state was blanketed in smoke, our office wrote about some of the implications and impacts associated with wildfires. We fleshed out the discussion in our forecast document (see PDF pg 11) and during our forecast release […]

By Oregon Association of Nurseries, Oregon OSHA has pushed back adoption of a proposed Temporary Rule for COVID-19 for workplaces to allow more time for comment and review. Officials initially targeted Thursday, October 1, but are now shooting for adoption on October 21, with an effective date of November 1. […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture release, President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced up to an additional $14 billion dollars for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) […]

By Oregon Family Farm Association, As residents scramble to pack belongings and flee their homes, volunteers across Oregon have evacuated hundreds of horses and other livestock endangered by wildfires. Megan Spalding said the Canyon Riders Rodeo Drill Team in Salem said has transported horses from regions under Level 2 “Be […]

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter, Legislative Days Last week, the legislature convened for another virtual edition of quarterly committee hearings. Legislators and state agencies continued to work to understand the evolving situation around wildfires. Both the State Forester and the State Fire Marshal presented to the House Natural Resources […]

Over 160 farm, food and agriculture organizations today sent a letter to the White House Coronavirus Task Force calling for the federal government to take additional steps and devote new resources to help farmers, ranchers and growers across the country protect their employees from the novel coronavirus. “[F]armers continue to […]

By Oregon Family Farm Association, A spontaneous Hillbilly Brigade with a can-do attitude is credited with saving the town of Molalla after unusual Labor Day wind gusts propelled a wildfire north toward the Clackamas County community of 9,235, forcing evacuations. The Hillbilly Brigade formed spontaneously Sept. 8 after a neighbor […]