In search of the perfect apple

Twenty years ago consumers found few choices of apples in supermarket produce sections -- often there were just Red and Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or Gala and McIntosh.

Now a dozen or more varieties of apples line the produce section of most grocery stores.

Adding more varieties has been a m ...

Columbia Basin battles first-cutting rain

WARDEN, Wash. -- For a while it looked like Columbia Basin growers might actually get first-cutting alfalfa put up this year without rain. But the rain came the night of May 20 and lingered for several days, shutting down harvest for about a week.

Growers around Pasco got about half their crop ba ...

Frost prompts replanting of many sugar beet fields

Talk of rivaling last year's Idaho record 35.5-tons-per-acre average sugar beet yield ended with mid-April killing frost, but the state's growers are pleased by the progress of their replants, facilitated by better May weather.

According to Amalgamated Sugar Co.'s recent estimates, a string of te ...

Frost prompts replanting of many sugar beet fields

Talk of rivaling last year's Idaho record 35.5-tons-per-acre average sugar beet yield ended with mid-April killing frost, but the state's growers are pleased by the progress of their replants, facilitated by better May weather. According to Amalgamated Sugar Co.'s recent estimates, a string of te ...

Farmers, insurers concerned over crop insurance premiums

A vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday to reduce the federal crop insurance premium subsidy for large producers is concerning to grower groups and crop insurers. In its farm bill debate, the Senate voted 59-33 to reduce the government's share of crop insurance premiums to growers with an average ...

Senate sugar vote pleases producers

U.S. sugar producers are pleased the U.S. Senate struck down a proposal to gut U.S. sugar policy on Wednesday, and consumers should be as well, said a representative of the sugar industry. Gutting U.S. policy would make U.S. food manufacturers dependent on a volatile foreign sugar supply, which ...

Navel oranges, other fruit coming on strong in California

SACRAMENTO -- Navel orange production in California's Central Valley has come on strong in the spring after a slow start, but growers don't expect to meet initial estimates. While a few shipping houses are already finished for the year, many others will be busy until late June or early July, said ...

California bill to establish task force to tackle metal thefts

SACRAMENTO -- State lawmakers want to crack down on the chronic problem of metal theft by setting up a task force to help local law enforcement and district attorneys catch and prosecute thieves. Under a California Farm Bureau Federation-sponsored bill carried by Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, ...

Calif. dairymen hang whey value hopes on state Senate

In an attempt to capture more of the whey value in their milk, California dairymen hope the state Senate will give them better results than the Assembly. Supporters say a bill aimed at reducing the price disparity California producers receive for their milk sold to cheese manufacturers and ...

Wyden zeros in on plan to boost logging revenue

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Sen. Ron Wyden is zeroing in on his plan for boosting logging on federal lands in Western Oregon and helping rural counties beset by money problems. The Oregon Democrat announced Thursday a more specific framework for legislation to address complaints that so-called ...

State confirms two more wolf attacks on livestock

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed that wolves from the Imnaha pack have killed a yearling cow and injured a calf. The department in a press release said radio collar evidence shows wolves from the pack were present at the site of both attacks. The incidents are the third a ...

Initiative would recognize hydropower as renewable

SALEM -- One down, 87,212 to go. Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, has kicked off a petition drive to place an initiative before voters that calls for the state to recognize hydropower as a renewable energy source. Petition supporters need to submit 87,213 valid signatures to the Secretary of State by ...

In search of the perfect apple

Twenty years ago consumers found few choices of apples in supermarket produce sections -- often there were just Red and Golden Delicious, Granny Smith or Gala and McIntosh. Now a dozen or more varieties of apples line the produce section of most grocery stores. Adding more varieties has been a m ...

Columbia Basin battles first-cutting rain

WARDEN, Wash. -- For a while it looked like Columbia Basin growers might actually get first-cutting alfalfa put up this year without rain. But the rain came the night of May 20 and lingered for several days, shutting down harvest for about a week. Growers around Pasco got about half their crop ba ...

Combining wheat classes can save companies dough, consultant says

The Washington Grain Commission hopes to show overseas customers they can save money and improve bread volume by combining flours from different classes of wheat. Moscow, Idaho, consultant Art Bettge is showing companies the financial benefits of pairing lower-cost soft white wheat, priced at rou ...

Antibiotic pressure ramps up

There are many pressures on livestock farmers today. Many of these pressures are not the typical economic and resource challenges faced by all businesses, but additional political pressures related to antibiotic use in food production. Setting aside the politics, all scientific risk assessments p ...

Biotech laws require clarity

Editorial Last week the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn the Department of Agriculture's decision to commercialize genetically engineered alfalfa. It is the latest, but probably not the last, judicial finding concerning the crop. The appeals court upheld USDA's contention that ...

ESA due for birthday makeover

Editorial It's the federal Endangered Species Act's 40th birthday, and as the landmark legislation reaches middle age it's time for an update. Think back to 1973, when Richard Nixon signed it into law. Has anything changed since then? Has science progressed? Have politics changed? Has the environm ...