By Oregon Department of Agriculture, Press release The Oregon Department of Agriculture has released its 2024 Top 20 Commodities Posters and Agricultural Statistics Brochures, based on values and estimates from the 2022 crop year. Oregon’s nursery and greenhouse industry remains the leading agricultural commodity in the state, with a value […]

Regulatory Update from Oregonians for Food and Shelter   Last week, OFS submitted comments as part of DEQ’s second rulemaking to implement the Recycling Modernization Act. This rulemaking in part focused on covered product exemptions. OFS continues to advocate for a more clear exemption for pesticides, fertilizers, and agricultural amendments, […]

By U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Press Release, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR-05) was presented with the Salvation Army’s 2023 Fight for Good Award, a recognition given to members of Congress who champion legislation to alleviate poverty. Last year, Chavez-DeRemer’s HOME Act passed the House with broad bipartisan support. The proposal would […]

Wyden, Crapo Lead Bipartisan Senators in Urging USDA Action to Protect America’s Potato Crops By U.S. Senator Ron Wyden Press Release, Washington D.C.—In a bipartisan letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) led Senate colleagues in expressing concern about […]

By Oregon State University Extension Office When Cynthia Ocamb was invited to tour a hop field in the early 2000s, she did not expect to see a prevalence of Fusarium canker higher than the single digits. Driving around the field in Marion County, Ocamb was gobsmacked. A disease that generally […]

By Oregon Family Farm Association, Oregon has lost more than 660,000 of farmland since 2017, a decrease of 4 percent, second only to Washington in the loss of agricultural property among Western states, and that has some land conservationists concerned, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The state has more than […]

By Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, Press Release, The target was likely a wolf, the latest poisoning in a disturbing trend that has killed 19 wolves in Oregon since 2015. Whatever the target, the collateral damage in northeast Oregon’s ongoing poisoning cases now includes golden eagles, dogs, and other […]

Politically Driven Nationwide Old Growth Amendment Fails to Address Primary Threats to Old Forests, Harms Efforts to Address Wildfire Crisis  By The American Forest Resource Council   The American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) today said the U.S. Forest Service’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement for its proposed nationwide old growth amendment […]

Regulatory Updates By Oregonians for Food and Shelter, This week, Oregon DEQ held its second rulemaking hearing related to the implementation of the Recycling Modernization Act passed in 2021. Since the passing of that bill, OFS has been working closely with DEQ and our members to request an exemption for […]

Why do I need water rights for irrigation? BY Oregon State University Extension Office Many new and beginning farmers as well as long-time land managers are unaware that a legal right is needed to use surface water and groundwater for irrigation of any crops that intended for sale. This includes […]