Farm Bureau Urges Lawmakers to Stop the HIT for 2018 Via Farm Bureau Citing a recent report that estimates the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance tax will force families purchasing coverage in the small group market to pay an additional $500 on average in premium costs next year, the American […]

A New Milky Way? Molecules in milk could enhance human health By: Chris Branam Oregon State University Extension Service  A goat can eat poison oak with impunity. Could that immunity transfer to a person by drinking that goat’s milk?

Ag exemption for cellphone use while driving ends on Oct. 1 Via Oregon Farm Bureau  There’s a national movement to crack down on distracted driving, specifically driving while using a cellphone. This spring, Washington state legislators passed one of the most restrictive distracted driving laws in the country. And Oregon […]

Farmers and Ranchers Need to Deliver Strong Tax Reform Message To Congress Via American Farm Bureau Republican congressional leaders, just returning from their month-long August recess, are geared up to revamp and modernize the tax code, making it all the more urgent for farmers and ranchers to share their tax […]

Via Healthy Forest Healthy Communities Congressman Greg Walden represents Oregon’s second congressional district. He penned the following open letter to his district: Enough is enough. When Cycle Oregon and performances at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland get canceled because of fires and the toxic smoke, it’s long past time for […]

Farm Bureau Calls on EPA to Up the Advanced Biofuels Requirement for 2018 Via Farm Bureau The American Farm Bureau Federation is giving the Environmental Protection Agency a thumbs-up for its proposal to keep the 2018 conventional biofuels level at 15 billion gallons, as called for in the Renewable Fuel […]

By Caleb Robyler Oregon is a major leader in renewable fuel production. Our biofuel facilities support thousands of jobs, helping produce cleaner fuels from agricultural feedstocks. Ethanol also supplies a full 10 percent of America’s motor fuel needs and cuts carbon emissions by an average of 43 percent, according to […]

Harl Burre Wolf Pack: Incremental Lethal Take Decision After Depredations On Cattle Via Oregon Cattlemen’s Association A series of wolf depredations on cattle in Wallowa County has finally come to a head with the decision for an incremental lethal take on the Harl Butte Wolf Pack. There have been seven […]

Forest Policy Briefs Update on Current Policy News Affecting Forest Business & Timber Supply By Rex Storm Oregon Loggers Association  Governors Want National Forest Reform: Pointing to ‘significant dissatisfaction’ with national forest management, the Western Governors’ Association on June 28th approved a resolution that proposes a US Forest Service overhaul. […]

Incubators Help Beginning Farmers Break into Farming Without Breaking the Bank By Dr. Lisa Benson Via Farm Bureau Starting a new farm often requires large capital investments to purchase or rent farmland, access farm equipment and set up storage facilities. Beginning farmers can expect to invest more than $800,000 in […]