Farm to School bill on the way to Governor — HB 2800 received unanimous bipartisan support in the Senate By Oregon Senate Majority Office Release SALEM – The Senate unanimously approved a “Farm-to-school” bill this morning, allowing more Oregon school to participate in programs that provide local healthy food options […]

Sprucing up our energy supply By Rep. Greg Walden As featured in Politico What’s green, grows on trees, creates jobs and supports healthier forests in rural America? Answer: woody biomass. If you were enraptured with the cap-and-trade debates in the House Energy and Commerce Committee two years ago, you’re likely […]

When Did Food Become So Complicated? Bob Stallman, President American Farm Bureau Federation Sustainability. Organic. Biotech. Big Ag. Local. Pure. These are just a few labels being tossed around freely to discuss something that I’ve always thought of as a pretty simple and straight-forward concept: Eating.  There is no doubt […]

Grower Testifies on Making Farm Programs More Efficient By National Association of Wheat Growers Producers’ experiences with USDA’s local offices working to deliver farm and conservation programs can be dramatically improved by streamlining programs and using more Internet and cell phone communication, Washington state wheat farmer Brett Blankenship testified to […]

2010 Oregon timber harvest rebounds from record low By Oregon Dept. of Forestry Although Oregon’s forest products industries are still struggling, a glimmer of hope appeared with increased timber harvesting in 2010. Overcoming a weak housing market and tightened lending standards, the 2010 harvest hit 3.2 billion board feet, a […]

By Christine Souza California Farm Bureau Federation Unless it contains a viable program for agriculture, farm groups say they are prepared to oppose legislation introduced in Congress last week that would require all U.S. employers to check work authorizations against the federal database known as E-Verify. The Legal Workforce Act, […]

Legislature & Stakeholders Agree On Wolf Compensation Bill By Oregon Farm Bureau Legislative Leadership moved HB 3650 to the Full Ways & Means Committee. HB 3650 was carefully negotiated by Farm Bureau, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, Defenders of Wildlife and the Governor’s Office. The Legislation creates a wolf compensation fund at […]

EQC adopts Administrative Rules for Water Quality Standards in Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett Thursday in Pendleton, TAPS were played for the future of Oregon’s natural resources based economy, and the private sector jobs they sustain. The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) adopted, by Administrative Rule, new Oregon water quality standards […]

Energy Cost Run-up Drives Retail Food Prices in Second Quarter By American Farm Bureau Federation, WASHINGTON, D.C., June 9, 2011 – Retail food prices at the supermarket increased during the second quarter of 2011, according to the latest American Farm Bureau Federation Marketbasket Survey. The informal survey shows the total […]

Renewable Fuels Association, For ethanol interests, the United States Senate was a cauldron of confusion this week. In rapid succession, the Senate voted to keep ethanol tax credits through the end of the year, to repeal those tax credits immediately, and then to allow federal funds to assist in the […]