By US Attorney, Oregon District Press Release, MEDFORD, Ore.—On July 17, 2023, a family-owned dairy located near Grants Pass, Oregon, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in federal court for violating the Clean Water Act by negligently discharging cow manure into a nearby creek and river. Noble Marital Trust dba Noble […]

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation, In rural Southern Oregon, Josephine County commissioners voted 2-1 to cut funding to Oregon State University’s Extension Program after more than a century of providing financial support, threatening the future of 4-H, gardening, and other programs. Commissioners pulled the funding because of what they […]

By Oregon Family Farm Association Move over, Maine: Oregon is competing for the maple syrup market. The state’s forestry community, which has traditionally relied on growing, logging, and selling Douglas fir trees, is using new technology—reverse osmosis pumps—to remove water from the sap produced in bigleaf maples to make and […]

Tax Relief for Farmers: HB 2073 and SB 498 By Oregon State Representative Tracy Cramer, Another set of bills that passed in the last hours of the 2023 session were two bills to help family farms. HB 2073 will put certain agricultural processors on the same playing field as others […]

By Oregon Small Business Foundation An arsonist set fire to hay bales outside the Wilco Farm Store on Molalla Avenue in Oregon City in the early morning hours of June 27, and police are searching for the suspect, according to KATU. A sprinkler system controlled the blaze in the straw […]

By Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industry Press Release, As of January 1, 2023, employers are required to pay overtime to agricultural workers after they work 55 hours in one workweek. There are some situations where an employer may be exempt from paying overtime and minimum wage. Frequently asked questions How does […]

Small Forestland Owners Receive Added Relief from the Private Forest Accord’s Impacts on Harvest By State Senator David Brock Smith The Oregon State Senate passed House Bill 2161 B, a measure that will increase the value of small forestland owner forest conservation tax credit for Small Forestland Owners (SFOs) by […]

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter, The Legislature kicked into high gear this week as we approach constitutional adjournment on Sunday. Both the House and Senate have spent long days on the chamber floors, breaking only for quick committee meetings to pass through final budget and policy bills. Engaging on […]

By Caleb Hampton For Californian Farm Bureau Daniel Pacheco, owner-operator of Lucky Diamond Trucking in Sonoma County, picked up a 24-ton order from Cold Creek Compost in Ukiah last week and hauled it two hours through Mendocino, Lake and Yolo counties before dumping the load near a corn field at […]

By Oregonians for Food and Shelter Legislative Update After six weeks, the Oregon Legislature’s longest walkout in state history ended this week as enough Senate Republicans returned to achieve quorum, following intense negotiations. With the compromise out in public, the legislature now makes its final push to adjournment, which is constitutionally required by […]