Businesses in Oregon face $1 billion in newly passed taxes earmarked for education reform. Climate change legislation pending in the Legislature promises to increase fuel and energy costs for all businesses, and those businesses that will be required to buy carbon emissions permits will see …
It won’t solve all of the problems facing them, but moving the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture to Kansas City will bring them closer to farmers and ran…
In response to the 220-farmer June 14 letter “Climate change is here; we need bold solutions:” Climate change is not here, and no, we don’t. Sorry, AOC. Sorry, Al Gore. Sorry, UN-IPCC.
I've been subscribing to the Capital Press for several years now and the number of weeks that there hasn't been an article on wolves killing livestock is few to none.
The United States and Mexico reached a last-minute deal June 7 that prevented the imposition of new tariffs threatened by the Trump administration.
When state wildlife managers moved elk into the Skagit Valley, they took responsibility for them. So did the area Native American tribes, who helped with the effort.
It’s really gratifying to see the engagement on our 5-part wolf series, looking at how wolves have affected our people and our state almost 25 years after reintroduction in 1995.
El Niño rains and early snowmelt that flood our fields and orchards. Droughts, floods and stronger storms. Farmworkers toiling in unsafe working conditions through smoke and extreme heat, whil…
It appears the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may have seen the light. In its preliminary environmental impact statement, the agency has recommended against draining Detroit Lake. The reservoir …
It is my understanding that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking input on how to better manage our stored water supply in the West. Having lived some 60 years of my adult life on a farm…
I’m writing in regards to a suggestion l made to Editor Joe Beach and a voice mail message to George Plaven on his article and photos, front page of the May 17 Issue. I suggested then that an …
Chris Mertz, director of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service field office in Olympia, Wash., says that while the number of small farms continues to grow, larger farms continue to…
We’re beginning to notice small changes in our wheat crop. The short green fields are growing tall. Before long, the wheat will begin turning from the vivid greens to the golden hues signaling…
Hats off to Beth Ford for calling out President Trump’s questionable arithmetic.
I was pleased to see Mateusz Perkowski’s article on HB 2619 to ban chlorpyrifos in Oregon. However, I was disappointed to read that Oregon legislators have called into question the clear evide…
Each morning when I get in my tractor, I turn on the radio and hope to hear a breaking-news report on how the United States and China have struck a deal and ended a trade war that’s causing pa…
We can’t be the only ones left scratching our heads last week after Washington state officials criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for adopting water quality standards developed and…
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown last week wrote one of the most interesting letters we’ve ever read. It was addressed to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt.
A strong majority of farmers and farmworkers say financial issues, farm or business problems and fear of losing the farm impact farmers’ mental health, according to a national Morning Consult …
We should applaud Sen. Boquist and his colleagues who opposed the corporation tax. They are good stewards concerned about the cares of us citizens and this state.
Take a drive through Hamilton County, Kan., population 2,500, and you know you are in the heart of rural America. Hamilton County has an abundance of many things — wheat, sorghum and dairy, fo…
When he’s not running for president, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee seems to be working overtime to do as much damage as he can to his state’s economy.
Unable to reach a trade deal with China and end punishing tariffs, President Trump last week promised American farmers and ranchers a new round of aid as the protracted trade battle intensified.
Who is the American farmer? My answer: a professional, a person of integrity and honesty, an expert in his or her field, a steward of the land, a champion of the working class, an employer, a …
Oregon’s wolves are in serious trouble. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recently announced their support for a misguided and reckless proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife S…
As a pear grower in Hood River, and the only full-time farmer currently in the Oregon Legislature, I’ve faced solving agricultural challenges throughout my career. I understand the value of en…
Regarding "Regulators target mercury pollution in Willamette Basin" (Capital Press, May 3).
It should come as no surprise that the dairy industry drives a large portion of the Northwest agricultural economy.
Let’s take stock of the progress of the gray wolf’s recovery in the Lower 48 states, shall we?
It was troubling to read recently that the Wolf Advisory Group (WAG) was used as a forum to essentially single out a producer for retribution for having repeated depredations. Even if he follo…
In agriculture, everything is cyclical. The same seems to be true of the lower Snake River dams.
The Snake River dams have been in the news again. At an event hosted by Boise State University to examine efforts to balance hydropower, salmon, farming and the environment, the topic of dam b…
Whether we are weekend gardeners in the suburbs or farmers from Maine to California and Florida to Washington state we spread a lot of chemicals on our yards and fields and the only questions …
Recent letters and Oregon Legislators have advocated carbon taxes to prevent climate change/global warming. I suggest they have it exactly wrong.
Though farmers and ranchers have generally supported President Donald Trump, they have continued to suffer from several trade battles initiated by the president.
Scientists call weeds the “bullies of the plant world.”
The Agriculture Department’s just-unveiled Census of Agriculture revealed that 36% of U.S. farmers are women and 56% of all farms have at least one female decision maker.
Salmon have captivated our collective imaginations for generations and earned the reverence of many as they travel thousands of miles to the ocean and return to spawn. They nourish people, cre…
“Yamhill County approves controversial trail” — Capital Press, April 5
Oregon lawmakers want to raise an additional $1 billion a year in taxes to pay for new initiatives to improve K-12 education.
In 10 years, the labor shortage in U.S. agriculture will be a thing of the past.
If you ever get the chance to visit with a cattle rancher or beef producer, you may hear some good stories about overprotective momma cows. Cows can be very protective of their calves, even mo…
With 40% of Idaho covered in trees, the management of our forests affects us all.
At USDA, we celebrate Earth Day 2019 by offering big thank-yous to farmers and ranchers here in Idaho for all they do.
We can’t wait to dig into the data released last week with the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
Somehow, in a valley that gets an average of 55-plus inches of rain a year, farmers could find themselves facing a water shortage at some point in the future.
“If not us, who? If not now, when?” These questions have been posed by many over the years in an attempt to draw attention to causes both large and small. For Farm Bureau farmer and rancher me…
Our company, Freres Lumber Co., wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the people who work for us. More than 450 employees strong, Freres Lumber relies on its community as much as the…
No milk buyer will pay more than it has to in order to get the milk it needs.
We hate to sound like the little boy who cried wolf, but for U.S. farmers there really is a wolf out there and that wolf is called low prices. While the pain is not evenly spread across the na…
Below is a link to the newest publication from the Western Landowners Alliance entitled “Reducing Conflict with Grizzly Bears, Wolves and Elk — A Western Landowners’ Guide.”
I read your “Our View” of April 5 and agree but have one complaint. When I was born the world population was a little over 2 billion. Now it’s well over 7 billion. As long as the government (a…
A small facet of a once little-known federal program now poses a big threat to many farmers and orchardists across the nation.
The Skagit Valley in Washington state has too many elk. So does the northwestern corner of Oregon — and the northeastern corner. And so do many spots around the West.
Although the saying “Failure means you’re trying” is supposed to bring comfort, hearing it doesn’t always make it easier to accept our failures.
