Grass seed moves to #4 in Oregon commodities

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Greenhouse, nursery products top Oregon’s ag products

Followed by cattle and calves, hay and grass seed

SALEM, Ore. – Greenhouse and nursery products remain Oregon’s leading agricultural commodity, with an annual value of nearly $1 billion, based on data collected by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Sources include USDA National agricultural Statistic Service (NASS), Oregon State University, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon Wine Board. This is an increase for Oregon’s greenhouse and nursery industry up from $94.7 million last year. Oregon is one of the top three nursery production states in the U.S.

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Teacher and Former OSA Scholarship Recipient receives state recognition for AG Science Program

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OSA congratulates Jaimee Brentano and her colleague on this remarkable achievement. Jaimee was an OSA scholarship award winner in 2013 and 2014.


(Photo courtesy of Bend-La Pine Schools Press Release)

Mountain View High School’s agriculture science program named best in Oregon


Bend Bulletin Staff

The agricultural sciences and technology program at Mountain View High School was named the best secondary agricultural education program in the state by the Oregon Agriculture Teacher’s Association in June.

The program, led by teachers Jaimee Brentano and Jeff Papke, teaches students about animal science, plant science, metals and fabrication, natural resources, agriculture leadership and more, according to a Bend-La Pine Schools press release. About 230 students enroll in Mountain View’s agricultural science classes each year.

Students in the program recently calculated a Water Quality Index for Tumalo Creek, created nesting tubes for ducks in the Deschutes River and practiced blood draws and injections on simulation animals, the release stated.

“We are excited to earn this honor and highlight how we are building the program and striving to do better each year,” Brentano said in the press release.

Read the article in the Bend Bulletin HERE>>>
Read the Press Release for the Bend-La Pine Schools HERE>>> 

Weaver Seed Receives 2019 Leadership Award

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Weaver Seed of Oregon was chosen to receive the 2019 Leadership Award at the Celebrate Trade event in Portland. The Celebrate Trade event is the “Oregon International Business Awards and Consular Corps Scholarship Gala” held during Oregon’s World Trade Week to help build the next generation of leaders.

See this video clip on the work done by Gary and Andy Weaver with the Albany Boys and Girls Club.

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Northwest agriculture: You’re not in Kansas

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By Brad Carlson, Capital Press
May 16, 2019

A drive through Oregon’s Willamette Valley will quickly convince any Midwesterner that agriculture in the Pacific Northwest is far different from the Corn Belt.

Rows of hazelnut trees line up next to fields of Christmas trees, and grass seed fields are surrounded by blueberries — more than 200 different crops are grown in the sprawling valley that stretches 110 miles between Eugene and Portland in Western Oregon.

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Harper: When the farm calls you home

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By Tiffany Harper in the Register-Guard, February 27, 2019

Leaving the family farm for more stable and lucrative opportunities is nothing new.

As a young farmer, I knew that many people leave the farm to find more promising jobs, but I also had other reasons to question my future in agriculture. Not only was I female, I was a biracial female who did not fit the stereotype of a “traditional farmer.”

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Wild West Seed sees flower interest rising

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Wild West Seed Inc. has a quiet but substantial presence in southwest Idaho, where it grows some of its flower seeds and most of its vegetable seed. The Treasure Valley is far and away our biggest production region by acres,” Business Development Manager Matt Hilbert said. “On the vegetable side, most is grown in the Treasure Valley.”

The 20-year-old Wild West Seed, a family-owned company based in Albany, Ore., produces open-pollinated flower, vegetable and herb seed, and wildflower mixes for other seed companies that sell primarily to home gardeners. With 10 full-time employees, it does business nationally and to an extent internationally — competing with big-name, merger-enlarged agribusinesses, among others.

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OSU names new dean for College of Ag

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Alan Sams has been named dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.

Alan Sams has been named dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.

A new dean is coming to the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences.The university on Tuesday named Alan Sams to lead the college, succeeding Dan Arp, who will retire at the end of August.

Sams has spent the last nine years as executive associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, managing academic programs, personnel and budgeting for one of the largest agricultural colleges in the country, with 350 faculty, 7,800 students and a budget of more than $69 million.

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Automation paves the way for West Coast Companies in Salem

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By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press

SALEM, Ore. — Andrew Burleigh knows the concern is there, that robots could soon replace many human workers in agriculture and food processing, but he insists that isn’t the case.

Automated systems are not replacing people, Burleigh said, but redefining what they do. For example, instead of hoisting 50-pound bags of product and loading them onto pallets by hand, a machine can now do the heavy lifting while employees transition to more favorable, less physical jobs.

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Oregon Court of Appeals affirms ruling overturning GMO ban

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September 26, 2017

A ruling that invalidated a GMO ban in Oregon’s Josephine County has been affirmed on appeal.

The Oregon Court of Appeals has affirmed that a prohibition against genetically engineered crops in Josephine County is pre-empted by state law.

Voters in Josephine County approved the ban in 2014, nearly a year after state lawmakers passed a bill barring local governments from regulating genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.

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Landmark Turf and Native Seed joins the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf

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Alist

August 23, 2017; Landmark Turf and Native Seed has joined the Alliance for Low Input Sustainable Turf. The A-LIST is proud to have Landmark join its ranks and help further promote sustainable turf nationally. As a leader in the reclamation, native and rangeland segments of the seed industry, Landmark brings a wealth of knowledge to the group and a history of promoting “green” products. This core competency helped set Landmark apart from other prospective new members the A-LIST had been evaluating.

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