By Stephen Pociask American Consumer Institute  The familiar saying “you get what you pay for” applies in many circumstances. Under certain conditions, however, this statement can be very misleading. For example, when customers pay a higher price for wood and paper products with “green” labels, they may not actually be […]

Governor Brown Signs into Law Sweepstakes and Contests Bill for Wine, Beer and Spirits Licensees By Wine Institute Governor Jerry Brown has signed the Wine Institute-sponsored SB 778 (Padilla), the bill that allows manufacturers or licensed suppliers of wine, beer or spirits to conduct consumer sweepstakes and contests in California. […]

By National Association of Wheat Growers The 2008 law governing many of our nation’s farm policies expired on Sunday, September 30th, and the 2012 Farm Bill needed to replace it is bottled up in Congress. While the Senate and the House Agriculture Committees were both able to pass their versions […]

Breaking the LEED Monopoly Will Create Opportunity for Rural Oregon By Bruce Hanna Co-Speaker Oregon House From commercial buildings to manufacturing to packaging and distribution, sustainability has become an integral part of nearly every business practice.  For Douglas and Lane Counties, whose timber and wood products sectors are vital to […]

American Forest Reserach Council The American Forest Resource Council today announced it has withdrawn its administrative action concerning the Friese Camp Forest Management Project on the Medford District of the Bureau of Land Management.  No timber harvesting would have been stopped by the protest filed in late August.  However, AFRC […]

Timber Industry Report By Rick Sohn Umpqua Coquille LLC Housing starts are gradually improving, loan rates continue a surprising drop, but getting from offer to closed sale is still a high hurdle. Four-year market trends of lumber, logs, housing, and mortgage statistics are shown below. Interpretation For the last 7 […]

By John Ledger Associated Oregon Industries AOI has submitted comment to the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) regarding a proposed rulemaking that would impose sweeping California gasoline and diesel fuel restrictions in Oregon. The proposed rules force increasingly stringent requirements for fuel make up and fuel sources beginning in 2014 and […]

Researchers test robotic berry harvester By California Farm Bureau What has 10 arms and has intrigued strawberry farmers? The answer is a robotic harvesting machine being tested at the Monterey Bay Academy. The machine uses sensors to choose strawberries of the right color and size. Next, robotic arms gently pluck […]

By National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Al Franken (D-MN) introduced the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Tax Clarification Act of 2012 (S.3545).  The Act is intended to overturn the ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court case Hall v. United States, a case that addressed the status of government […]

By American Farm Bureau Federation President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney recently spelled out their positions on agriculture issues for the American Farm Bureau Federation. In a questionnaire, both candidates went into detail about their positions on energy, environmental regulations, farm labor and more. Every four years, the […]