Farming

After an unprecedented shut-off of irrigation water in the Klamath Project, agriculture producers had to scramble to find water for their crops. While many used groundwater wells to make up at least some of the loss, the limits of that resource became clear.

Frustrated with persistently low prices, ranchers and others in the beef industry are moving to reverse a long trend of consolidation and planning to open new slaughterhouses.

Oregon farmers who grow 60% of the world’s carrot seed have been without irrigation water for weeks as drought ravages the American West.

Oregon’s farm production depends on field workers to tend and harvest the crops. New technology could affect farmworkers for better or worse.

Growing crops is already a field with a lot of inherent risk. Add Oregon’s increasing heat waves and wildfire smoke, as well as the effects of the COVID-19.

Agriculture is stressed across the region. Blueberries are ripening so fast, processors can’t keep up. Potatoes, a valuable Northwest crop, are growing in weird shapes, making them hard to cut into fries. Dairy cows produce less milk when overheated, so operators are misting them with water and turning giant fans on them.

Not only is lavender one of the loveliest and most fragrant flowers, it’s also one of the most useful.

When Shantae Johnson and Arthur Shavers embarked on their Mudbone Grown agricultural enterprise in 2015, they were doing more than building a farm from scratch, they were changing the narrative of what it means to be a Black farmer in Oregon.

An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 among animals and staff.

Many small farms in Skagit County, including Farias Farm, started selling their produce online after coronavirus restrictions left fewer options to sell at farmers markets, a major source of income, the Skagit Valley Herald reported this week.