Tag: USDA

What Ever Happened To Pendleton Grain Growers?

Pay Attention to Your Co-Op

Pendleton Grain Growers

WORDS : ERIC FRUITS , PH.D.
Eric Fruits, Ph.D. is chief economist and president at Economics International Corp. and an adjunct professor at Portland State University.

Farmland Industries was once the largest farmer-owned co-op in the United States.  In 2001, it opened a new headquarters in Kansas City.  The glass-wrapped building and deluxe executive suites told the world that Farmland had become an agribusiness giant.  At the time, the co-op was racking up debt—building a big expensive fertilizer plant, upgrading older fertilizer plants, and spending nearly $100 million on new computer software.  In 2002, Farmland filed for bankruptcy. By 2004, its last big asset had been sold off. Continue reading

A Look at Oregon’s Record-Breaking Crop Years

BY JULIE NOLTA

The Oregon Department of Agriculture recently released an analysis of Oregon’s agricultural production from data gathered since the 1860s.

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Cattle Replaces Nursery as Oregon’s Top Ag Commodity

Beef Cattle

BY KURT HEATH

The Oregon Department of Agriculture reports that cattle and calves has taken the lead in production value for 2014 in Oregon’s top agricultural commodities.  Continue reading

OSU Partners on $3.2 Million Study to Probe a Costly Potato Pest

potato plants

BY NAOMI INMAN

A leading genomicist, Dee Denver, from Oregon State University’s College of Science, is joining other scientists to find an earth-friendly approach to eliminating the crop crunching pale cyst nematode and golden cyst nematode. Continue reading

Oregon Family Farmers Making Less Income

Hay Rolls

And Owning Less Land

BY DR. ERIC FRUITS

The vast majority of Oregon farms remain family owned.  At the same time, the state has seen a drop in the number of smaller farms. Continue reading