Spiking gas prices forcing farmers to adapt By Ching Lee California Farm Bureau Federation, Yuba County rice grower Paul Baggett says he is feeling the sting of rising diesel prices. Baggett farms 2,000 acres and his operation consumes about 80,000 gallons of fuel annually. As oil prices have soared in […]

Bipartisan Water Permitting Bill Out – Helps cities and businesses deal with big fiscal impacts of having nation’s most stringent standards. By John Ledger Associated Oregon Industries A bipartisan bill directing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to minimize negative economic impacts when issuing variances in some water discharge permits […]

By National Corn Growers Association Chipotle’s newest campaign to make a buck once again serves up an attack on farmers with a phony newspaper filled with self-promotion and at least one glaring error. At the risk of repeating a negative, they significantly downplay the role of family farms in an […]

Three Imnaha Wolves Collared BY Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife ENTERPRISE, Ore.—Three additional wolves from the Imnaha Pack were collared by ODFW and its partners last weekend in Wallowa County. On Feb. 25 a gray yearling male was captured and collared with a GPS collar, a device that will […]

Drop in Wheat Exports Biggest News in Report By American Farm Bureau Federation WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2011 – The biggest news in the Agriculture Department’s crop report released today is the drop in projected U.S. wheat exports and the subsequent bump in stocks, according to Dr. Bob Young, chief […]

By Oregon Farm Bureau, The next generation of Oregon agriculture producers has piqued media interest in the wake of a recent New York Times article about how more young people are getting into small-scale farming. Mike Hathaway, chair of the Oregon Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee, is all […]

Farmers provide homes for owls that control gophers By Steve Adler California Farm Bureau Federation Mark Browning, left, of the Pittsburgh Zoo, is doing barn owl research in a 100-acre chardonnay vineyard near Sloughhouse. Vino Farms viticulturalist Chris Storm, right, said the field being studied has had problems with gophers. […]

SB 5002, Oregon Department of Agriculture Budget Oregonians For Food and Shelter: Oregon Department of Agriculture Budget (SB 5002) – On Thursday, the Ways and Means Natural Resources SubCommittee completed their hearings on the Department of Agriculture’s budget with a public hearing. A packed room of farmers, processors and many […]

$500 Million ratepayer hike wasted on absent threat in Oregon known as cryptosporidium By Natural Resource Report: The Oregonian reports that Oregonians are expected to pay over $500 million in higher utility bills to stop a parasite that does not exist in Oregon. The EPA is forcing Oregon to take […]

Update on Current Policy News Affecting Forest Business & Timber Supply by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Associated Oregon Loggers BLM Withdraws Timber Sales: The Bureau of Land Management in January unilaterally cancelled two timber sales on the Medford and Coos Bay Districts, totaling 20.9 million bdft. The Chew Choo […]