Helping teachers teach kids about agriculture – Ag in the Classroom continues to reach Oregon students By Oregon Department of Ag. As the doors to school open next week, Oregon agriculture is once again determined to see more education about one of the state’s leading industries follow the kids and teachers into

2010 Fall Hunting Forecast available online By Oregon Dept of Fish and Wildlife, SALEM, Ore.—ODFW released its fall hunting forecast today. Based on surveys by staff biologists, the report offers hunters a good look at what to expect this fall.  The forecast can be accessed on ODFW’s website through a link at the top o

Natural Resource News Note: The Oregonian newspaper featured a front page article on the problems of Measure 49 which is the measure that brought limits to landowner compensation but promised a fast-track process.  Three years later, few new homes have been approved and built under the new system with landowners complainin

No Reason to Fear Our Food Supply By Mark, National Corn Growers Association This week we are supposed to be afraid of eating eggs. Apparently we have about a 1 in 20,000 chance of getting salmonella from eating eggs. The odds are slightly higher that you will die in a fall this year. I will take those odds [...]

Livestock Producers Fear GIPSA Rule’s Vagueness and Unintended Consequences By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association FORT COLLINS (Aug. 27, 2010) – Beef and pork producers rallied against USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s (GIPSA) proposed federal rule on the buying an

More push to get legislation giving the public the right to recreate on privately-owned banks and uplands along non-navigable waterways By Bill Moshofsky Oregonians In Action, During the 2010 special session of the legislature, Senator Alan Bates of Jackson County introduced a  bill that gave the public (1) the right to us

By State Senator Jason Atkinson, Last year, California ended the practice of dredge mining in its rivers. With the ban in effect, out-of-state miners have flooded into southern Oregon rivers armed with $25 permits issued by the state. I’ve a long history with “The New 49′ers,” the miners association

NCBA Applauds Senate Approval of Mandatory Price Reporting – NCBA Calls for House to Support Transparency in the Marketplace National Cattlemen’s Beef Association WASHINGTON (Aug. 6, 2010) – Well into the evening yesterday, Aug. 5, 2010, the U.S. Senate reauthorized by unanimous consent the Livestock Manda

Wall Street Journal Editorial: 8/27/10 Excerpts from the Wall Street Journal Editorial on Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln farm aid problems… Last year heavy rain damaged cotton and rice crops across the South. The 2008 farm bill, passed by a Democratic Congress, created the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SU

Virus kills deer in Corvallis neighborhood By Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife CORVALLIS, Ore. – Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease (AHD) is the likely cause of death in as many as 20 black-tailed deer in a Corvallis neighborhood over the past month, according to pathology tests conducted by state veterinarians. Since J

U.S. Agriculture Paying Price for Inaction on Mexican Trucks By American Farm Bureau Federation, WASHINGTON, D.C., August 19, 2010 – Mexico’s trade retaliation against the United States is expanding in size and scope due to the U.S. government not meeting obligations to allow Mexican trucks to operate in the United Stat

Tansy ragwort re-emerges in Oregon, but still controllable Biocontrol should keep the noxious weed in check By Oregon Department of Agriculture Farmers and ranchers in Western Oregon this summer are noticing patches of the telltale bright yellow flowers of tansy ragwort- a noxious weed once the scourge of the 1970s. But the

Sen. Kerry’s Energy Tax Bill Would Help Energy Storage Technologies by Chad Marriott Stoell Rives, LLP NW Law Firm On August 5, 2010, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced S.3738—the Clean Energy Technology Leadership Act of 2010—which would have some impact on the growth of energy storage technologies in the Unite

By American Forest Resource Council Items in this newsletter 1. Task Force Report Disappoints 2. DeFazio Convenes BLM Meeting 3. FS/BLM Budget 4. DNR Timber Report …more Task Force Report Disappoints On July 22, the Administration released the Final Report of the Western Oregon Task Force. The Task Force visited Orego

By Cindy National Corn Grower’s Association A recent story by National Public Radio (NPR) about meat and the evolution of the human brain has devolved into a fight between meatheads and pea brains. The story, posted on the NPR website on August 2, now has some 280 comments – many of them of the “Are too! Am not!�

Black-tailed deer hunters asked to return a deer tooth to aid population study By Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife SALEM, Ore. — ODFW biologists are asking black-tailed deer bowhunters to send the department a tooth from the animal they harvest. ODFW staff uses the teeth to determine the age of the animals, which is

Activists Share Anti-Agriculture Agenda at Conferences Animal Agriculture Alliance August 16, 2010 – Animal agriculture was under attack at the Animal Rights 2010 Conference and the Humane Society of the United States-hosted Taking Action for Animals, two of the nation’s largest animal rights events. Both meetin

Agriculture a ‘Choice’ Career Choice By Dal Grooms American Farm Bureau Federation If you’re a movie buff, you’ll recall the career advice shared with young Benjamin Braddock in the late 1960s movie The Graduate. “Plastics,” young Benjamin was told. Today, there is a good chance the giver of that advice, Mr. McG

Rural Property Owners – Your Property Taxes May Be Too High, Even If Your Property Qualifies For Farm Tax Deferral By Oregonians In Action One of the least understood areas of Oregon law is real property taxation.  Most Oregon property owners dutifully pay their property taxes (either directly to the county or through mo

By Mike Mehren Oregon Feed and Grain Association Inc. I was lucky enough to attend a meeting where the researchers from Eastern Oregon Ag Research Stations in Burns and Union presented the studies that they are working on, those that have been recently completed and studies that are in progress. We, Oregon in particular, ar

Oregon Ag responds to the Spotted Wing Drosophila Commercial fruit growers managing the insect so far Oregon Department of Ag. So far this summer, Oregon’s fruit crops have made it to the marketplace in good shape despite fears that a tiny fruit fly would have a huge negative impact. A combination of an effective moni

Legislation Introduced to Tackle Sixth Circuit Permitting Problem from Wheat Growers-National National Association of Wheat Growers Agriculture leaders in the Senate and House have introduced legislation that would eliminate the need for additional permitting for pesticide or other crop protection product applications if th

Sport halibut fishing closes off central coast Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife NEWPORT, Ore. – Fishing was so good off the central coast last weekend that anglers took the remaining Pacific halibut quota for the season, causing fishery managers to close the popular fishery. “Anglers took advantage of decent ocean cond

OSU wheat varieties dominate industry in Oregon Oregon State Extension Service, CORVALLIS, Ore. – In an annual event as old as Oregon statehood, wheat harvest is under way from the Willamette Valley to the Columbia Basin – and this year, approximately 965,000 acres of wheat will be harvested across Oregon. Sixty percent

Emissions data from China, others are old & questionable, GAO finds By Congressman Greg Walden WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Reps. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Joe Barton, (R-Texas), and Michael Burgess (R-Texas) today unveiled a Government Accountability Office report confirming that for major developing nations like China, Brazi

Update on Current Policy News Affecting Forest Business & Timber Supply by Rex Storm, Forest Policy Manager Oregon Association of Loggers Budget Cuts Impact Fire Protection: Local fire protection associations say the spending cuts put OR Dept. of Forestry fire protection districts and private forests at greater risk o

Russia Bans Wheat Exports, Sending Prices Soaring By National Association of Wheat Growers Wheat prices soaring on news of production problems in Russia got an unusual boost this week when the country announced a ban on grain exports until at least December. The country has been facing a severe drought and wildfires that ha

National immigration reform summit is next week in Seattle Oregon Association of Nurseries, The Pacific Northwest will play host to a regional and national summit on immigration reform next Thursday, Aug. 12. As co-chairman of the Coalition for a Working Oregon, OAN Director of Government Relations Jeff Stone will moderate

World Bank ousts energy costs as true culprit for rising food prices National Biodiesel Board JEFFERSON CITY, MO –   The World Bank recently released a report reversing claims that wrongly faulted biofuels for food price increases.    “As the first commercially available advanced biofuel available in the U.

Treasurer Wheeler urges better disclosure for deepwater mining operations in the wake of Gulf Coast oil spill – Oregon Treasurer among major investors to send letter urging action by oil companies By Oregon State Treasurer SALEM – Across the globe, thousands of deepwater drilling rigs are siphoning millions of gall