The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a new set of guidelines for distinguishing employees from labor contractors. The rule could have far-reaching impacts across American industries, including the transportation and agriculture sectors.
Fuel prices moved ahead of a driver shortage to become the No. 1 trucking industry concern in this year’s survey of industry stakeholders. The driver shortage had topped the list for five year…
The Federal Trade Commission is order nine large companies to provide details on supply chain disruptions to better understand the issues.
The Federal Reserve expects to hold interest rates steady until 2022, but economic recovery will determine the outcome.
Boston-based startup Guardian Agriculture has invented an autonomous crop-dusting drone intended to complement or replace crop dusting using low-flying planes.
Alternative, plant-based “milks,” often called alt-milks, have catapulted in popularity the past few years. Dairy groups say the term “milk” should be permitted only on the labels of animal-de…
Farmers should constantly run a "stress test" on their business, an economist recently told Northwest audiences.
The Far West Agribusiness Association recently moved its office from Spokane to Weiser, Idaho.
In the face of an uptick in farm bankruptcies, farmers should be closely monitoring their balance sheets, the CEO of a national agricultural land lender says.
While the Farm Credit System’s financial results for the first half of 2020 reflect continued stability in agriculture, experts say the pandemic’s effects on agricultural debt may still be fel…
Without delving into the deal’s specifics, attorneys for the growers, the cooperative and its unsecured creditors told a bankruptcy judge Aug. 4 that they’ve reached an agreement resolving the…
The shutdown shuttered restaurants and left local producers with nowhere to distribute their food.
Surging coronavirus cases and a rebound of lockdowns in some parts of the West are again leading to bare grocery store shelves as grocers struggle to keep popular items — mostly shelf-stable f…
COVID-19 is changing how America bags, boxes and wraps its food.
Agricultural economists weigh in on the effects of COVID-19 on food and agricultural markets. They expect prices to remain stressed through 2020.
The former NORPAC cooperative is seeking a “clawback” of $400,000 it paid for seed to Syngenta and disputes owing that company another $485,000 for seed deliveries.
An appeals court has overturned the federal registration for dicamba herbicides sprayed on biotech soybeans and cotton, but the ruling may have broader implications for pesticide regulation.
Deere & Company, the world’s largest agricultural equipment manufacturer, last week outperformed its quarterly sales and profit estimates and forecast a smaller-than-anticipated decline in…
The former NORPAC cooperative has filed a complaint alleging that a seed supplier lacks collateral for a $1.8 million bankruptcy claim against the defunct processor.
Nitrogen fertilizer prices have declined during the economic calamity surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, though they haven’t dropped as much as oil prices.
Smallest businesses to apply first for COVID-19 relief.
Unsecured creditors of the former NORPAC cooperative are seeking to pursue claims against an agribusiness company that backed out of buying the bankrupt processor’s assets last year.
The former vice president of operations for NORPAC Foods claims he was shortchanged while other executives received bonuses despite the cooperative’s bankruptcy.
Agriculture and other industries will be weighing optimization and efficiency against diversification and resiliency.
Coronavirus disruptions have already caused farm machinery sales to plunge but it’s not certain the outbreak will destabilize the market in the long term, experts say.
Farmers and agribusiness owners across the U.S. are racing to apply at banks, credit unions and agricultural lenders for small business loans that are part of a COVID-19 federal relief package…
The former NORPAC cooperative is countersuing a food processor owned by farm entrepreneur Frank Tiegs for allegedly breaching a contract to pay $10 million for finished goods.
Margaret Jensen was part of the group looking for a new executive director for the Far West Agribusiness Association.
Northwest food processors are taking steps to protect worker health and safety amid the COVID-19 crisis while also keeping up production to meet shifting consumer demands.
Retailers, suppliers scramble to meet demand that moved from foodservice to retail as consumers stayed home.
Rogue Ales & Spirits in Newport announced it is making and donating hand sanitizer in accordance with updated guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to battle the coronaviru…
SBA is offering long-term loans to small business suffering economic injury from the coronavirus.
Marcel Kringe, 31, practically talks combines in his sleep. His company Bushel Plus, based in Canada, has a system to help farmers determine harvest loss as they work their fields.
The severity and length of trade disruptions caused by the coronavirus won't be clear for several weeks, but there are signs that logistical problems caused by the disease may have already pea…
U.S. pork and lamb exports made a good showing in 2019, while beef exports took a step back from 2018’s record levels.
The cost and complexity of owning and maintaining driverless farm machinery may steer agriculture toward a fee-for-service model instead of growers buying equipment outright.
A union representing food processing workers has dropped its objection to the bankrupt NORPAC cooperative’s sale of three Oregon facilities.
Robert Owens, a financial strategy director for Farmer Mac, said farmers whose loans are tied to LIBOR interest rates should switch interest programs before the risks get too high.
Maria Schmidlkofer, an Oregon attorney with 13 years of experience with farm succession plans, gave a seminar Wednesday at the 50th annual Northwest Farm Show in Salem.
Jonathan Sandau, public policy specialist for the Oregon Farm Bureau, provided a legislative update Wednesday morning at the 50th annual Northwest Ag Show, including efforts to exempt agricult…
Equipment innovations, optimizing potato quality in range of growing conditions, among topics at major employer's expanded event
SALEM — Craig Gillison stood suspended 20 feet above the showroom floor in an Orbit Lift pruning tower Tuesday morning as he maneuvered the vehicle into place ahead of the opening of the 2020 …
In retrospect, the inefficiencies at Peoria Gardens near Corvallis, Ore., were hiding in plain sight.
MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Chris Voigt has gone on an all-potato diet for two months, flown 1 million airline miles and ridden a bicycle from Seattle to Portland.
A Washington legislator has proposed doubling to $50,000 a year the gross revenue makers of homemade foods can collect before they come under the state’s food processing law.
Garner succeeds longtime leader Grant
PORTLAND — Farm entrepreneur Frank Tiegs has prevailed over the J.R. Simplot Co. in an auction to buy the bankrupt NORPAC cooperative’s processing plant in Quincy, Wash., for up to $107 million.
Citing regulatory and environmental problems, farm entrepreneur Frank Tiegs has pulled out of his planned $155.5 million takeover of the bankrupt NORPAC Foods processing company.
Chris Simons comes from Cargill
The company primarily serves the needs of McCain Foods but hopes to expand.
SPOKANE — Jim Fitzgerald, executive director of Far West Agribusiness Association, will retire at the end of the year, marking the end of a career that took him from the farm to Washington, D.C.
PORTLAND — Several objections to the sale procedures for the bankrupt NORPAC cooperative’s food processing assets were dropped at a court hearing Sept. 24, while others await further deliberation.
ROSEBURG, Ore. — A part-time job at the Douglas County Farmers Co-op turned into a career for Rex Heard.
The Wilco farmers’ cooperative has replaced its CEO, Tim Ramsey, less than two years after he was hired for the top job.
Kevin Vivian comes to Agri-Service after 25 years in the equipment business in California
