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Apple Maggots Threaten Spokane Yard Waste Recycling

AP | March 2, 2015 7:26 a.m.

A new rule to protect Washington apple orchards from a pest could derail the yard waste recycling program in Spokane.

Energy | Environment | Communities | Renewable energy | Agriculture

An Oregon City Braces For Legal Pot To Drive Up Electricity Costs

OPB | Feb. 27, 2015 2:15 p.m. | Ashland, Oregon

Oregon's city and county leaders are scrambling to understand how electricity supplies will be affected by power-hogging indoor marijuana growers after recreational pot becomes legal in the state.

Health | News | Food | Business | Agriculture

Bill Would Allow Raw Milk To Be Advertised In Oregon

AP | Feb. 25, 2015 11:01 a.m.

Oregon is among 30 states that allow the sale of unpasteurized milk, but it sets tight restrictions. A law on the books since the 1950s says sellers of raw milk can't advertise.

News | Agriculture

Yakima Valley Dairies Agree To Control Manure Lagoons

AP | Feb. 18, 2015 9:02 a.m.

Owners of five Yakima Valley dairy farms have agreed to line their manure lagoons — a costly safeguard against groundwater contamination that environmentalists have been seeking for years.

News | Agriculture

Oregon Farmer Plows New Ground With Hemp

OPB | Feb. 17, 2015 7:59 a.m.

A Southern Oregon farmer is the first in the state to get a license to grow hemp after last year's farm bill makes it possible for growers to cultivate the plant.

News | Business | Agriculture

Oregon Man Licensed To Grow Hemp

AP | Feb. 11, 2015 7:26 a.m.

State regulators have issued the first license to grow industrial hemp in Oregon, and the Eagle Point man who got it says he has everything ready to go — except something to plant.

News | Business | Agriculture

2014 Marks 3rd Record Washington Wine Grape Harvest In A Row

AP | Feb. 10, 2015 9:25 a.m.

The 2014 wine grape harvest in Washington totaled a record 227,000 tons, an 8 percent increase over the year before, the industry reported.

News | local | Economy | Agriculture

Heinz Ends Contracts With Some Oregon And Idaho Potato Farmers

OPB | Feb. 3, 2015 3:11 p.m.

Potato farmers in Eastern Oregon have lost an important contract with Heinz.  That's the company that owns the Ore-Ida brand.

News | Health | Agriculture

Poultry Quarantined For Avian Flu In Okanogan County

AP | Jan. 30, 2015 9:09 a.m.

The state Department of Agriculture imposed a poultry quarantine Thursday in part of Okanogan County after avian flu was discovered in turkeys and pheasants.

News | Health | Agriculture

Farmworker Safety Training Classes Fill Up In Washington

AP | Jan. 29, 2015 9:22 a.m.

Demand for farmworker safety classes is high because retailers increasingly rely on private auditors to visit processors, packers and farms throughout the world to verify good environmental stewardship and worker protections.