BEND, Ore. (AP) -- Hundreds of goats browse through a field, nibbling and foraging through the available fare. These aren't just any goats, though they are the work force of Lariat Ranch Ecological Services.
The business, based in Powell Butte, owns nearly 400 head of Spanish Boer and San ...
Monday, March 15, 2010 11:28 AM
Farmers and ranchers are eager to tell their story to the non-farm public, and both fear and hope are their motivators.
On one hand, public misconceptions about food production and agricultural practices and proposed burdens such as cap and trade are prompting many farmers to take to the ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday kept alive claims by Klamath Basin farmers that the federal government should pay them for shutting off water to crops in 2001 to help protected fish survive a drought.
A federal appeals court had asked the state Supreme Co ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:28 PM
Nursery groups from California and Oregon have filed suit against South Carolina, seeking to overturn regulations that limit plant shipments to that state.
Plaintiffs in the case -- the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers and the Oregon Association of Nurseries -- filed ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
Sugar beet growers are already planting genetically modified seed even though a federal judge is expected to rule any day on an injunction that could bar further planting and use of the crop.
Some beets have already been planted in the Amalgamated Sugar Co.'s growing area, said Duane Gran ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
With a judge's decision imminent on whether genetically modified sugar beets will be prohibited until July, the industry this week was left wondering exactly how the injunction might apply.
Drew Kershen, a professor of ag-biotech law at the University of Oklahoma, said an injunction, ofte ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
The U.S. Forest Service has asked a federal appellate court to reverse an injunction against thinning in Oregon's Deschutes National Forest.
The agency claimed the thinning project, which would permit logging in some mature stands, is necessary to protect the forest from catastrophic fire ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:08 AM
Oregon agricultural cooperatives face extensive tax hikes this year thanks to Measure 67, the corporate tax increase voters approved in January.
The measure, which is retroactive to 2009, in some cases will add $100,000 to a co-op's taxes, said Dave Buck, a partner in AKT CPAs of Salem.
...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski vowed to help Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers survive this year's looming drought after meeting in Klamath Falls March 9 with government officials, tribal leaders and farmers.
But, he said, there are limits to what the state can do.
"If there is one thin ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 12:08 PM
WOODSTON, Kan. (AP) -- Woodston farmer Jerry McReynolds will be leading a national group dedicated to protecting the interests of wheat growers.
McReynolds was named president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, a Washington-based trade group, at the group's meeting ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 8:49 AM
Work is already under way on the gates for three locks on the Columbia-Snake River system.
Beginning in December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will replace the downstream lock gates at The Dalles, John Day and Lower Monumental dams.
The closure will last until mid-March of 2011. ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
Failure to resolve a trucking dispute between the U.S. and Mexico is taking a toll on U.S. potato farmers, industry officials say.
Frozen potato exports to Mexico plummeted about 50 percent from April-December 2009 compared to the same nine-month period in 2008, said John Keeling, executi ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
Dayton, Ore., FFA Alumni are busy soliciting donations for their 20th Silent and Oral Auction and Dinner, which will be April 10 in the Dayton High School Gym.
Registration and the silent auction begin at 5:30 p.m. Dinner starts at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets are $7 per person and available at th ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski has named the chairman of the Multnomah County Commission as state treasurer.
Democrat Ted Wheeler succeeds Ben Westlund, who died March 7 of lung cancer. Wheeler will serve until voters choose a successor in November.
Wheeler said he will run for ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
Salmonella recall issued
Resers Fine Foods is recalling 12 products that may be contaminated with salmonella, including a ranch dressing and several dips.
The Beaverton, Ore., company initiated the recall March 3 after being informed by a Las Vegas supplier that certain seasoning ingredien ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 AM
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) -- Port of Astoria officials have started lease negotiations with a Bremerton, Wash.-company that wants to use 16 acres of the port's central waterfront to ship logs to Asia.
Port leaders say the deal could boost the agency's revenue by almost 25 percent.
The ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 9:10 AM
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Sugar beet growers are already planting genetically modified seed even though a federal judge is expect to rule any day on an injunction that could bar further planting and use of the crop.
Some beets have already been planted in the Amalgamated Sugar Company's growing ...
Friday, March 12, 2010 12:28 PM
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski says he expects to sign a drought declaration for the Klamath Basin next week, but it will not be enough to keep farmers from hard times.
Kulongoski traveled to Klamath Falls to hear from federal biologists still working on how m ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:59 AM
.
...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:28 AM
UNION, Ore. (AP) -- For decades, not much has changed in the tiny northeastern Oregon town of Union. Nestled in the Grande Ronde Valley, it lies close to the spectacular Eagle Cap Wilderness.
But a Texas company's proposal to build a wind energy project on the slopes that overlook two sid ...
Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:09 AM
Two nursery groups have announced they've filed suit against South Carolina, seeking to overturn regulations that limit plant shipments to that state.
The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers and the Oregon Association of Nurseries filed the federal lawsuit against the state of S ...
Sunday, March 07, 2010 1:09 PM
.
...
Sunday, March 07, 2010 12:09 PM
RITZVILLE, Wash. -- Ron Jirava is walking one of his fields. Surveying the 3,500 acres he farms with his father, Wayne, he looks for signs of life from the winter wheat he planted last fall and makes plans for the spring and summer growing season.
Water is on his mind.
"It's dryland, ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
There's a lot more to Mike Bondi than what appears on his orange-and-black business card.
In addition to being an Oregon State University forestry and Christmas tree extension agent and the staff chair for OSU's Clackamas County Extension office, the 58-year-old Minnesota native has playe ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
.
Carruth has been in the newspaper business since 1984, starting at the Idaho Press Tribune in Nampa. He's worked in sales and as an ad director in Emmett, Idaho; Moses Lake, Wash.; Kalispell, Mont.; Huron, S.D.; Sioux City, Iowa; Oceanside, Calif.; and Albany/Corvallis, Ore.
"We are plea ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
The Oregon wine industry is facing a dilemma.
The state's grape production is continuing to expand even as wine sales have dropped off, prompting concerns about oversupply.
"Not only are we producing more grapes, but more acres are coming online," said Ted Farthing, executive directo ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 10:08 AM