SB 212  would cut DEQ fees and bureaucracy By State Senator Chuck Thomson Salem, OR – Senator Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River) has introduced legislation to exempt new and fuel efficient cars from Department of Environmental Quality smog checks. The bill is part of a larger effort to draw attention to […]

Fred Thompson Oregon Economics Blog> Coal-fired power plants are a major source of greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. Compared to burning coal, burning natural gas is cleaner and, in the US, cheaper. Increased reliance on natural gas in the US has led to substantial […]

Posted by Tanya Brown, Writer and Editor, Farm Service Agency, USDA “Beginning farmers are a key to twenty-first-century agriculture,” says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Clay Blackburn is a 25-year-old Missouri farmer who works several part-time jobs to keep his cow/calf operation growing. He currently leases 200 acres of land until […]

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Early this week the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) was notified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the agency had been collecting information from states on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This information was requested by extremist groups, including Earth Justice, the Pew Charitable Trust […]

By Cindy National Corn Growers Association The good news is that the overall drought area in the U.S. is continuing to decline from week to week. The bad news is that 2013 may be even drier than 2012 was. The latest U.S. drought monitor shows less than 56% of the […]

By American Farm Bureau Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Farm Program Cuts to Avert Sequestration “While initially we are encouraged that a new $110 billion fiscal policy proposal from Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would help put our nation on the long road toward […]

Oregon Farm Bureau Priority Bills By Oregon Farm Bureau Farm and Forests 101 This week, Oregon Farm Bureau along with other natural resources organizations hosted Farm and Forests 101 for legislators. The intent of the program was to give legislators an overview of the farm and forest sectors and our […]

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter Meet Senator Bill Hansell Senator Hansell was elected last fall after the incumbent Senator, Dave Nelson, decided to retire. Senator Bill Hansell (R-Athena), who is beginning his first session in the Oregon legislature, announced this week he will focus on the creation of family […]

ODA adopts Willamette Valley canola control area rules By Oregon Dept. of Agriculture The Oregon Department of Agriculture has adopted an administrative rule that allows for some canola production in the Willamette Valley while continuing to protect specialty seed crop production. Under the rule, a majority of specialty seed production […]

Grazing Improvement Act Reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives National Cattlemen’s Beef Association The Public Lands Council (PLC) and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) strongly support the Grazing Improvement Act of 2013, introduced last night in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho), Rep. Mike Simpson […]