California Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, wants U.S.-grown ag products to bear an image of the American flag. He introduced a resolution this week urging domestic producers and packagers to print the flag on all labels.“Given our ongoing work to pull back from the recession, I believe it is extremely important that we rai

Hey again — one of the projects I've gotten to work on this summer has been editing video footage that reporters take while they're in the field conducting interviews. As a new media communications major at Oregon State University, part of my curriculum for my major has required that I take pre-, post-, studio and field p

What does a label provide for a product? Should a label, in some cases, be treated like a brand?First of all, I should introduce myself since this is the first time I've blogged for the CP. My name is Candice, I'm one of two interns at the Capital Press in Salem this summer. I've been spending most of my time working on the

I wish I was attending the Ag Media Summit this weekend in St. Paul, Minn. I've only been once, back in 2006, when the event was held in Portland, Ore.Fortunately, technology will make it easier for those of us that couldn't make the trip to follow along from wherever we happen to be.Look for the Twitter hashtag of #agms to

I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into back in June 2005, when I reported to work for the first time in the Capital Press main office in Salem, Ore. Frankly, I wasn't sure if I would fit in here. These people were pretty serious about their agriculture here, and I was not, by training or experience, an agriculture jour

From the Pacific Legal Foundation:Today’s Supreme Court decision affirming the constitutional right of Chicago residents to possess firearms for personal protection is “an important moment in constitutional history,” said Timothy Sandefur, principal attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, who authored the Foundation’s

Whatever happened to having to eat your meat and drink your milk before you got dessert?From the Associated Press:DENVER — More kids could get vegetarian meals and nondairy food and drink in the school cafeteria under a bill proposed by Colorado congressman Jared Polis."One of the things I've always been dismayed by

The Pacific Legal Foundation hails today's decision on the side of farmers in the Delta water lawsuit:SACRAMENTO, May 18, 2010 --- Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys applauded Federal Judge Oliver Wanger’s issuance today of a preliminary injunction against a federal regulatory action that has contributed to devastating wa

Thirty years ago, on May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted violently. The headline in the May 23, 1980, Capital Press read: "St. Helens dusts NW crops with volcanic ash" and the secondary headline said "Easter Washington's rich farming lands declared disaster area."Another front-page headline said: &quo

That's an expression that was used by a county supervisor I used to cover, and it applies to this question I have.Continue reading.

From the California Cattlemen's Association's legislative bulletin:The 2010 CCA/CCW Midyear Meeting will take place June 16-17, at the Lake Natoma Inn in Folsom. This is your opportunity as a member to give direction to your association. New this year, we have a condensed two-day meeting schedule to collaborate with the 201

Groovy, man. Did you know some plants dig the trip on acid?Capital Press' Kay Marikos has the details over at the Back Forty.

The man widely credited for turning American opinion against the Vietnam War ... was working behind the scenes to do just that.Continue reading.

Here are a few more photos of Scott Valley, Calif. rancher Gareth Plank, who spent two hours last Friday showing me how his gravity-based irrigation system and filtration pond conserve water and replenish the Scott River.He makes the point that he's hardly someone who's out to ravage the resources.

From one of this week's Capital Press editorials:Water wars are nothing new to the West, where agriculture has been caught in the crossfire for decades.With these studies and strategies in the making, who could blame farmers and ranchers for being more than a little skeptical, and nervous. To see what we're talking about, c

More on the U.S. meat industry's successful outreach to Japanese consumers.From the U.S. Meat Export Federation:The love affair between Japanese consumers and U.S. pork got a bit cozier recently when Japan’s largest retailer hosted an intensive three-week promotion that resulted in the sale of more than 2.6 million pounds

Chase Ruiz, 5, of Dixon, a first-year hogcalling contest, won his age division to the delight of emcee Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the Friends of Dixon May Fair. (Photo by Marilyn Sexton)From Kathy Keatley Garvey at UC-Davis:DIXON, Calif.--Hogcallers turned into “swinemasters” at the eighth annual Dixon Ma

"Any health care funding plan that is just equitable civilized and humane must, must redistribute wealth from the richer among us to the poorer and the less fortunate. Excellent health care is by definition redistributional." - Donald BerwickContinue reading.

Blogger Troy Hadrick at Advocates for Agriculture is appalled that the Humane Society of the United States apparently hired an "independent investigative reporter" to do a hit piece on lobbyist Richard Berman, whose Center for Consumer Freedom advocates protecting consumer choices.Continue reading.

From the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America:R-CALF USA fully supports an 18-point plan titled “Restore Our Border (ROB) Security Plan” created by the Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association (ACGA) and Southern Arizona Ranchers that requests the “immediate attention and implementation by

From Kathy Keatley Garvey in UC-Davis' Department of Entomology:DAVIS--Ant specialist Andrea Lucky, who will receive her doctorate in entomology in June from the University of California, Davis, will discuss “Systematics, Biogeography and Conservation of Ants in Australasia and the Pacific” at a seminar set Wednesday, M

Echoing what Capital Press' Carol Ryan Dumas wrote last week, the American Farm Bureau Federation reports:WASHINGTON, D.C., May 11, 2010 – Following two years of tough economic times for livestock producers, 2010 is shaping up to be a much better year thanks to an improving economy and tighter supplies of beef, pork and p

President Obama and his newly minted Supreme Court nominee seem to think so, if their recent and not-so-recent comments are any indication.For more, read the Jefferson Journal at CapitalPress.com.

From the National Cattlemen's Beef Association:Did you know that May is International Trade Month? President Obama has set a goal of doubling exports over the next five years as a way to stimulate economic and job growth. The best way to do that is through free trade agreements (FTAs). But unfortunately, our pending FTAs wi

Former presidential advisor Karl Rove comments to the Capital Press about immigration, cap and trade and agriculture here.

Former presidential advisor Karl Rove was in Redding, Calif. this morning to promote his new book, "Courage and Consequence," and he had plenty of things to say to the media before headlining a fund-raising breakfast for a local politician.Continue reading.

Some advice from Capital Press' Kay Marikos:This week's Country Living Association "Tip of the Week" is about eveyone's favorite spiders.Very few people enjoy spiders. While most are just as afraid of you as you are of them, there are a few that are dangerous and you should be aware of them.She goes into detail ov

Talent, Ore. farmer Ken Muller writes on today's Capital Press opinion page:Without drastic and immediate change, we risk losing many of Oregon's current farmers and ranchers and driving away those young entrepreneurs who would be the future of agriculture. The existing rules and regulations pertaining to food and agricultu

From Jeff Cox at CNBC (hat tip: Brian Hearden):The current European debt crisis likely will not end until the euro collapses as a currency and takes the entire European Union with it, said Dennis Gartman, hedge fund manager and author of "The Gartman Letter.""I think the whole thing will go down to defeat, th

Roaming around the radio dial last night I landed on AM 620, a liberal radio station out of Portland, just as their late-night yakker was saying "every capitalist in America" is a shameless, heartless SOB who "couldn't care less about human life."I don't know what the issue was, but if your farm or busin