By Western Wood Products Association, PORTLAND, Ore. – With the weakness in the U.S. economy much deeper than was seen earlier this fall, Western Wood Products Association has scaled back its earlier forecast for lumber supply and demand for 2009.The Association reports Western mills are experiencing the largest downturn in […]

Posted by Curt Kipp, Oregon Association of Nurseries, Daily Digger Blog It’s a familiar pattern: new year, new minimum wage. In Oregon, the state-mandated hourly rate is now $8.40, up 45 cents from $7.95 in 2008. Under Oregon law, the wage rises each year, automatically, based on increases in the […]

Guest Submission By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI (Salem) Capital Press FOREST GROVE, Ore.– Staring into the placid depths of Hagg Lake, farmer and forester Hank Scott sees more than a 50,000-acre-foot reservoir. Beneath the lake’s surface once stood a handful of homes, a church, a grade school Scott attended as a boy, […]

Guest Submission If you are trying to figure out ways to produce more food from your yard, think about planting a few fruit trees. Just a few trees can produce enough fruit to last you for many months. Growing tree fruit in your backyard, however, does take considerably more room […]

Oregon Department of Forestry — December’s storm events including snow, ice, rain and winds took a heavy toll on many trees in Oregon landscapes, but arborists are advising homeowners and community leaders to exercise caution when dealing with the storm’s aftermath. That’s because there are two very common mistakes people […]

By Oregon State University Extension Service, PORTLAND, Ore. – Children can tell the difference between grass- and grain-fed beef, but when it comes to preference, they’re evenly split, according to taste tests that Oregon State University conducted at two grade schools in Portland. Portland Public Schools asked OSU to conduct […]

Guest Submission An unusually weak Dungeness crab harvest is compounding the financial woes of West Coast fishermen who were already struggling with depressed consumer demand and the unprecedented collapse of the Pacific chinook salmon fishery. Commercial fishermen in California, Oregon and Washington are struggling to stay afloat financially. They say […]

Guest Submission PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. Forest Service plans to alter its environmental standards to allow a proposed $800 million natural gas pipeline to run through 47 miles of Mount Hood National Forest. The proposed Palomar pipeline would require opening a path measuring 120 feet wide. The path would […]

By the Pacific NW Tree Association, Real Christmas trees provide a plethora of benefits to the environment, and our farmers go the extra mile to ensure natural resources are preserved for future generations. Check out these facts on the environmental impact of real Christmas trees: While growing, real trees produce […]