Proposals could mean big change for Colorado water

DENVER (AP) -- An opponent of hydraulic fracturing south of Denver is leading an effort to have voters decide on two proposals that critics say would change the way Colorado has handled water rights since 1876. The Colorado Constitution says unappropriated water in natural streams is publ ...

Applicators must plan for pesticide spills

Prevention is key in avoiding pesticide spills, but most farmers and pesticide applicators end up having a spill anyway, said Sherman Takatori, agricultural program manager of licensing and pesticide training with the Idaho Ag Department. "If you stay in the industry any amount of time, you ...

Prune returns rise as yield, acreage fall

RED BLUFF, Calif. - The new head of the California Dried Plum Board says he hopes for a rebound in plum acreage in the next decade even as plantings dipped again in the last year. Only 55,000 acres of trees were bearing during the 2010-2011 season, down from the 61,000 acres that bore fruit in ...

Little chicks mean big growth for hatcheries

Business is booming at the Farwest Hatchery near Canby, Ore.

Owner Terry Cain expects his company to sell a half-million chicks in 2012, up fivefold from 2011, the hatchery's first year.

"We have more customers than we have eggs," he said. "We're trying to build as fast as we can to cover the ma ...

Feds to revise child labor effort

The federal government has temporarily backed off from stricter enforcement of labor rules that agricultural groups feared would prevent children from working on family farms.

The U.S. Labor Department announced Feb. 1 that revisions to the "parental exemption" from restrictions on agricultural c ...

Dairy labor trial resolution awaits union appeal

PASCO, Wash. -- While the two-year labor battle at a Washington state dairy remains on hold pending the union's legal appeals, the farmer vows to see that justice is served.

Dick Bengen, who owns the Ruby Ridge Dairy with his wife, Ruby, said his workers have rallied behind him. He has approximat ...

Applicators must plan for pesticide spills

Prevention is key in avoiding pesticide spills, but most farmers and pesticide applicators end up having a spill anyway, said Sherman Takatori, agricultural program manager of licensing and pesticide training with the Idaho Ag Department. "If you stay in the industry any amount of time, you ...

Co-op says suit not to blame for lack of planting guideline

The head of United Potato Growers of America said his decision not to promote specific planting guidelines for the 2012 crop is unrelated to a federal lawsuit challenging his organization's supply management efforts. Rather, Jerry Wright, UPGA president and chief executive officer, said he made ...

Judge rejects challenge on sage grouse listing

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- A federal judge on Thursday rejected a challenge from environmental groups seeking to force the federal government to take immediate action to increase protections for the sage grouse. Had their request been granted, it could have curtailed new energy production on publi ...

Prune returns rise as yield, acreage fall

RED BLUFF, Calif. - The new head of the California Dried Plum Board says he hopes for a rebound in plum acreage in the next decade even as plantings dipped again in the last year. Only 55,000 acres of trees were bearing during the 2010-2011 season, down from the 61,000 acres that bore fruit in ...

Cattle-related firms shrug off economy

RED BLUFF, Calif. -- Despite an overall sluggish economy, businesses that cater to the livestock industry have been holding their own. For some businesses, including Hickman Saddlery in Post Falls, Idaho, the key has been to augment income by venturing into new areas of marketing. The business h ...

World Ag Expo keeps on growing

TULARE, Calif. -- Driven by a surging agricultural sector, the 45th World Ag Expo opens Feb. 14 with 300 new exhibitors and a raft of farmers and ranchers who have money to spend after a record income year. This year's show chairman, Patty Colson, said all exhibit spaces on the show ground's 2.6 ...

One year on, top state forester reflects

SALEM -- On Feb. 1, Oregon State Forester Doug Decker completed his first year at the helm of the state Department of Forestry. Decker, who began with the department in 1987 as a public affairs specialist, rose to state forest division chief prior to the Board of Forestry selecting him to succeed ...

Couple honored for efforts with hazelnuts

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Rob and Sally Hilles, who run a fully integrated hazelnut operation near here, have been chosen as Nut Growers of the Year for 2011 by the Nut Growers Society of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. The award, which was presented by society president Tim Aman at the nut growe ...

Lawmakers seek Columbia water

SALEM -- Rep. Mike McLane and five other legislators are making a run at increasing irrigation water withdrawals from the Columbia River. The lawmakers want to establish a task force "to develop recommendations for new allocations totaling 450,000 acre-feet of water from surface or storage source ...

Extended buffers removed from pesticide drift bill

OLYMPIA -- A measure aimed at protecting people from pesticide drift moved out of committee with a do-pass recommendation in a party-line vote on Feb. 3. The original bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater, had called for a half-mile buffer around aerial and air-blast applications. An a ...

Ag wary of Washington redistricting

Agriculture in parts of Eastern Washington's 4th congressional district feel a bit disenfranchised by the state's new redistricting plan. The plan, set for legislative adoption by Feb. 7, was put together by a bipartisan commission. The plan moves three Eastern Washington counties from the 4th Di ...

Mild winter puts pruners ahead of schedule

DRYDEN, Wash. -- Alex Toban moves quickly, instinctively knowing his next lopper cut with the merest glance of the eye. At 56, he's pruned, thinned and picked pears in the Wenatchee Valley for 30 years. This year, Toban and pruners throughout Central Washington are two to four weeks ahead of sch ...

Innovation will feed world

last week. "Whenever someone creates a new drug, you have to have very smart people looking at lots of trial-based data to make sure the benefits far outweigh any of the dangers." That makes sense. But to critics of advanced technologies, Gates offered a blunt warning: Countries can embrace modern ...

Rich can't cover deficit

Editorial During his State of the Union address last week, President Barack Obama proposed, as a matter of fairness, taxing people with incomes of $1 million or more at least 30 percent. Missing from the president's remarks were any indication as to what would be done with the money. Would it go t ...

Readers' views for Feb. 3, 2012

Technology takes farming over cliff A recent article, "Small technology offers big reward," stated: "Tiny, highly specialized tools known as nanoparticles have the potential to transform agriculture and make current 'precision ag' devices look like blunt implements in comparison. "Nanotechnology i ...