Roundup Ready sugar beets are harvested Sept. 18 near Murtaugh, Idaho, for Grant-Hagan Farms. Idaho farmers are expected to produce 5.56 million tons of beets this year, a 54 percent jump from 2008.
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 ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:24 PM
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 ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 1:26 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 ...
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 4:37 PM
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.
"Together we can minimize economic losses and impacts to endangered species," Kulongoski ...
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 4:49 PM
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 Sunday of lung cancer. He will serve until voters choose a successor in November
The 47-year-old Wheeler says he ...
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 8:08 AM
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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
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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
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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
As farmers make their final planting decisions, Washington Grain Commission CEO Tom Mick doesn't expect wheat acreage in his state to drop significantly compared with last year.
Some irrigated ground in the Columbia Basin may be diverted from wheat to corn or other row crops, but farmers ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
An Oregon ranch company is challenging a decision by the U.S. Forest Service to cancel two grazing permits due to doubts about cattle ownership on the national forest allotments.
The Fence Creek Cattle Co. claims it should have had more opportunity to straighten out the disagreement befor ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:09 AM
Distributors have a powerful tool -- access to a large number of potential clients -- but winemakers have to take it upon themselves to learn how to use it, according to industry experts.
"Distribution is not going to change to meet your needs, because there is plenty of wine out there to ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
Oregon farm interests are up in arms over a decision by Portland Metro area officials to set aside more than 28,000 acres of farmland for urbanization.
The action, they said, jeopardizes the future of farming in parts of the Willamette Valley.
Metro councilors, meanwhile, hailed the ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 9:08 AM
Oregon legislators last week ended the 2010 special session, only 25 days after it started.
The question on many minds is what happened? But more important may be what didn't happen.
Left by the wayside in the second special session in three years were several bills involving major p ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 9:54 AM
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- About 1,300 farmers in a Klamath Basin irrigation project are waiting to hear whether drought conditions will leave enough water to plant crops this year without help from a landmark agreement designed to share scarce water between fish and farms.
Gov. Ted Kul ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 4:09 PM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon environmental authorities have taken their first look at the cost of restoring streamside vegetation in the Willamette Valley that has been harmed by farming, forestry and urban development.
The picture is not good. A report issued Thursday by the Oregon ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 1:09 PM
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 ingredients it purchased may be contaminat ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 4:39 PM
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) -- OM Seafood Co. is recalling oysters that were harvested from Yaquina Bay on the Oregon coast and distributed to nine other states.
The Portland-based company said Tuesday that the oyster meat and oysters in the shell, harvested from Feb. 1 through Feb. 24, may be contami ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 6:08 PM
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- The first year under a landmark agreement to share water between fish and farms in the Klamath Basin is shaping up as a tough one.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski called together the heads of state agencies in Salem Tuesday to see what they could offer farmers if federal irr ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 4:28 PM
PHILOMATH, Ore. (AP) -- Organic farmers fear this year's spring breezes will be carrying pollen from genetically altered sugar beets, which they say could render their crops worthless, and they hope to persuade a federal judge this week to halt the plantings nationwide.
Expert ...
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 7:49 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A land use blueprint approved for the tri-county Portland area is designed to guide the future of its cities and farms for the next 40 to 50 years.
The plan was approved Thursday by the Metro Council.
Metro and Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties ...
Sunday, February 28, 2010 8:59 AM
Oregon farm interests are up in arms this week over a decision by Portland Metro area officials to set aside more than 28,000 acres of farmland for urbanization.
The decision, they said, threatens the agricultural viability of the region.
Metro councilors and commissioners from the area's thr ...
Sunday, February 28, 2010 10:49 AM
