OSU leads the whey in NW dairy sciences By: Chris Branam Oregon Extension Services  The digital readout on the walk-in cooler displays 43 degrees as Lisbeth Goddik pulls open the door and steps inside. Inside the dim, narrow room—Oregon State University’s equivalent to a European cheese cave—are vacuum-wrapped cheeses stacked […]

USDA Makes Disaster Resources Available to Rural Development Borrowers By  United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development is providing tools and resources to help rural communities recover from the devastation brought by hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue highlighted today. The emergency […]

Oregon Members Push for Emergency Wildfire Suppression Assistance Congressman Peter DeFazio Rep. Peter DeFazio (OR-04), along with Reps. Greg Walden (OR-02), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Kurt Schrader (OR-05) today sent a second letter to House leaders and the House Appropriations Committee requesting that emergency funding for wildland […]

Guest opinion submitted by Knute Buehler Oregon State Representative and 2018 Governor candidate This summer’s wildfire season has traumatized Oregonians across our state with more than 500,000 acres burned, so far, this summer. Families have lost homes and livelihoods. The special places where we hike, bike and camp are scarred […]

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 […]