Oregon Wheat Growers League, 2019 is in the books, and as such the Oregon State Legislature passed hundreds of new bills both large and small. While we have heard of some big ones non-stop, here are a few that you may have missed. These new bills took effect on Wednesday, […]

American Farm Bureau Federation, Legislation to fund the U.S. government in 2020 included several tax provisions important to farmers and ranchers. At the top of the list is permanent repeal of the Health Insurance Tax, which was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act. The Health Insurance Tax has […]

By Dave Kranz, California Farm Bureau Words have power and one specific word—”local”—appears to have particular power in the marketing of fresh vegetables. That’s the conclusion of a study published by researchers from Cornell University in New York. According to a university news release, the Cornell researchers conducted a blind […]

2020 Legislative Session By Oregonians for Food and Shelter, With less than five weeks until lawmakers return to the capitol, there is some anticipation as to what the legislature will take-up during the 35-day short session and how those legislative priorities will impact Oregon’s natural resource industries. Here are some […]

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the nation’s oldest and largest national organization representing American cattle producers, reaffirmed its policy supporting voluntary country-of-origin labeling (COOL). Because the association takes the concerns of its members and stakeholders seriously, its Executive Committee has unanimously approved efforts to work […]

By Oregon Forests Forever, To celebrate the end of the year we’ve rounded up a “Top 5” list to recap 2019: 1. Top issue: Forest fires. Our community has been eager to urge lawmakers to do something about the annual problem of forest fires. This year we gave you a […]

OSU Extension Office, It’s a familiar scene to anyone who’s watched footage of brown bears catching sockeye salmon in Alaska: They’re standing knee-deep in a rushing river, usually near a waterfall, and grabbing passing fish with their paws or jaws. But a new study published in the journal Conservation Letters […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation The House of Representatives passed Farm Bureau-backed legislation that will improve the accuracy of broadband coverage maps to better identify needs. The Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability (DATA) Act (H.R. 4229) requires broadband providers to report more specific data to create a significantly more […]

Congressmen Greg Walden, Representative Greg Walden (R-Hood River) released a statement following the House passage of the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA): “I am glad that the House came together today to pass the bipartisan USMCA and I applaud President Trump for working hard to negotiate this deal. Today is […]

By Kevin Hecteman California Farm Bureau A bill that would give agricultural employees a path to legal status and revamp the H-2A agricultural-visa program has taken a significant step forward. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2019, sponsored by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, and Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., was approved […]