Salem-News.com Agriculture articles Page 4

Oregon Wineries Become Targets for Turnover

The market is ripe for the picking when it comes to investments in the wine industry.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Recent polls showed that nearly 10-percent of Oregon winery owners are considering a sale in the next five years. In addition, 31-percent said they’d be open to a sale right now if conditions were favorable.

While the sheer number of wineries considering sales looks problematic on the surface, it opens up the market for opportunistic entrepreneurs that are primed to make their mark on the industry.

Man Assaults Oregon Farmer Over Use of Bird Cannons

Several firearms and ammunition have been seized from the suspects home.

(SALEM, Ore. ) - A local farmer was assaulted after a neighbor became enraged from the sounds being put off by "bird cannons".

The incident occurred Thursday night at 8:00 p.m., in the 8700 block of Umatilla Street NE, located in the rural northeast portion of Marion County.

Oregon Ranks Highest in Farm to School Food Program

Two-thirds of all Oregon school districts are participating in farm to school and school garden activities.

(SALEM, Ore. ) - Oregon has clearly embraced farm to school programs and is poised to increase the impact local foods have in the lives of school children statewide.

Results of the first ever USDA Farm to School Census provide both a national and state-by-state snapshot of related efforts. The assessment shows that Oregon school districts are directing 24 percent of their food budgets to purchase local foods.

First Prison Beekeeping Program Starts at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility

This new program will keep inmates buzzing with intrigue.

(WILSONVILLE, Ore.) - A group of honey bees arrived at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility late last month to take up residence in three hives that will be cared for by inmate workers as part of the first prison beekeeping program in Oregon.

The hives each contain one queen and up to 5,000 bees, which include drones and worker bees. Since all worker bees are female, it seems somehow appropriate that this brand new program should begin at Oregon's only women's prison.

EPA Seeks Comment on Proposed Decision to Register Enlist Duo Herbicide Containing the Choline Salt of 2,4-D and Glyphosate

Public comments on the EPA’s proposed regulatory decision must be submitted no later than May 30, 2014.

(WASHINGTON DC) - The EPA is making available for a 30-day public comment period a proposed regulatory decision to register Enlist Duo containing glyphosate and the choline salt of 2,4-D for use in controlling weeds in corn and soybeans genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate 2,4-D.

Weeds are becoming increasingly resistant to glyphosate-based herbicides and are posing a problem for farmers.

Experts Warn Consumers, Farmers Major Changes Coming in Food Production & Prices

New Reports Spotlight Growing "Food Security" Worries for America

(WASHINGTON DC) - Matt Russell is a fifth generation Iowa farmer. All of his life he's watched the weather and worked the land.

Lately, he's seen ominous changes in the climate: A multi-year drought. Five hundred year floods. Snow in May. Enormous rains followed by months of nothing but dry, blue skies. Summer temperatures falling to the 30s. Then, days and days soaring into the 100s.

How ``Extreme Levels`` of Roundup in Food Became the Industry Norm

Seven out of 10 GM-soy samples tested surpassed this “extreme level” (of glyphosate + AMPA), indicating a trend towards higher residue levels.

(OSLO Independent Science News) - Food and feed quality are crucial to human and animal health. Quality can be defined as sufficiency of appropriate minerals, vitamins and fats, etc. but it also includes the absence of toxins, whether man-made or from other sources.

Surprisingly, almost no data exist in the scientific literature on herbicide residues in herbicide tolerant genetically modified (GM) plants, even after nearly 20 years on the market.

Oregon`s Oldest Beekeeper, Gone but Not Forgotten

Remembering 99-year old Oliver Wendell Petty, A Beekeeper’s Beekeeper
June 9, 1914 — April 6, 2014

(SALEM) - As an early beekeeper in the Willamette Valley, Oliver Petty was instrumental in convincing farmers to rent bee hives to improve crop yields. Prior to that time, most beekeepers made their living by selling honey.

“Oliver, in his beekeeping career, had seen things that only we can dream about- thousands of acres of hairy vetch blooming all over the Willamette Valley and other bee forage untouched,” said beekeeper Dirk Olson.

The REAL Truth Behind the Bundy Ranch Land-Grab in Nevada

For the last 2 decades, the Bundy family in Clark County, Nevada has been involved in judicial battles with the BLM over their grazing rights on public land.

(LAS VEGAS) - Connections behind the tense situation in Clark County, Nevada regarding the aggressive seizure of cattle from Cliven Bundy, a private rancher who used public land for grazing purposes appears to have a direct pathway beyond Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid; involving the Obama administration and international projects directed under Agenda 21 initiatives.

Media reports state that in March, Reid applied “pressure [to] Nevada’s largest power company, NV Energy, to sign up as [ENN Energy Group’s] first customer.”

PRESS TV: Americans See Worst Fears Come True

Americans are increasingly feeling the heat from their own government, and they are starting to see the manifestation of their own worst fears; those predicted by visionaries such as George Orwell.

(LAS VEGAS) - Federal agents with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) attacked a group of protestors this week in rural Nevada, using tasers, dogs, and even moving vehicles to strike people who oppose the BLM's policies toward historic cattle ranch practices.

The increasing tension is bringing all sorts of people out to the Bundy Ranch to show support and take part in the protest.