By Oregon State University Extension office Photo: Chemist Staci Simonich examines a vial containing air pollutants at her lab at OSU. (Photo by Tiffany Woods) Oregon State University aims to test new technologies for measuring the toxicity of environmental chemicals to determine their health risk and see if cleaning up […]

Rate of shattered baseball bats 50 percent less, thanks to Major League Baseball, Forest Service  By USDA Forest Service As the 2013 Major League Baseball (MLB) season slides into the All-Star break, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the results of innovative research by the U.S. Forest Service, […]

FBI Calls Destruction of GMO Crop Sabotage By Oregon Family Farm Association The destruction of two genetically-engineered sugar beet crops in Jackson County has been called economic sabotage and a violation of federal law by the FBI. In overnight acts of vandalism in two separate fields on June 8 and […]

Timber Industry Report By Rick Sohn, PhD Coquille LLC A correction in wood products seems to have found a floor, interest rates are trending down, and real estate activity continues at a healthy pace, despite slower starts. Seven-year trend of lumber, logs, housing, and mortgage statistics are shown below. Interpretation […]

Congressman Kurt Schrader Congressman Kurt Schrader (D-OR)  expressed pleasure with the Oregon and California (O&C) Railroad Grant Lands Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act being included in the passage of H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, in the House Natural Resource Committee. “It is very encouraging to […]

National Corn Growers Association Creative naming practices have been an essential tool for many in the marketing field for centuries. The practice of carefully selecting a name that will appeal to consumers has become an art form that heaps lucrative rewards on those truly skilled in this craft. While exaggeration […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation The American Farm Bureau Federation and more than 400 leading U.S. businesses and advocacy organizations called on the House to enact immigration reform legislation. The letter, sent today, was signed by a broad cross section of industries that includes agriculture, housing, retail, tourism, hospitality, technology, […]

Petition To Ban GMO Crops Rejected By Oregon Family Farm Association The Lane County Clerk has rejected a petition to ban genetically modified crops, stating the measure is too broad. The “local food ordinance” does not comply with the Oregon constitutional “single subject” requirement. The petition aims to “create and […]

OPB is reporting about a farmer led-coalition fighting the EPA designating the White Bluffs bladderpod as requiring endangered species protection. A group of farmers in southeast Washington is trying to stop the federal government from giving endangered species protection to a rare plant. It’s called the White Bluffs bladderpod. And […]

David Bolstad By U.S. Food & Drug Administration  Western Mixers Produce & Nut Company of Los Angeles, California is recalling ARO and/or Treasured Harvest Pistachios, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or […]