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USDA to close 250 offices nationwide

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced yesterday that the USDA is closing some 250 offices across the country, including 131 Farm Service Agency offices. The closures will save $150 million per year and are part of the across-the-board federal budget cuts. “We must innovate, modernize and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” Vilsack […]

Quarantines that outlive their utility

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Most agree that from time to time, plant quarantines are needed to protect against invasive species, pests and pathogens. But what happens when a quarantine is no longer needed, or it no longer conform to the best available practices? According to Dan Hilburn, plant division administrator at the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the answer, all […]

Boxwood blight found in Eastern U.S. states

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Reports indicate that a new fungal blight of boxwood has been detected in the Eastern United States. Cylindrocladium buxicola was isolated recently and confirmed by USDA in North Carolina, Maryland and other locations. The disease can have severe effects on boxwood, causing rapid and severe defoliation. It was first detected in the U.K. and had […]

Mexico tightens Christmas tree regulations … again

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In case you missed it … Mexican officials have tightened regulations on American Christmas trees entering that country, according to the Capital Press and reporter Mateusz Perkowski. Trees must be sprayed with pyrethrin, an insecticide, three to six weeks before harvest. They must be free of dead needles or branches, and they must also be […]

Raised awareness of raised beds

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Edibles have been a hot trend in gardening for the past few years. Homeowners short on money, but eager to garden and looking to stretch their grocery dollar, have been planting victory gardens, either at grade, or in raised beds. In many places, however, city and homeowners association rules have failed to keep up. Many […]

ODA approves seven butterfly bush cultivars

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The Oregon Department of Agriculture today approved seven butterfly bush selections. They are: FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Blueberry Cobbler Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Peach Cobbler Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY™ Pink Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY PETITE™ Snow White Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Sweet Marmalade Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Tangerine Dream Nectar Bush FLUTTERBY GRANDÉ™ Vanilla Nectar Bush Since the end […]

Rule altered to protect supply of nursery growing media

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture appears to have responded to nursery industry concerns about the proposed Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), according to Craig Regelbrugge, vice president of government relations and research at the American Nursery and Landscape Association (ANLA). The program, first announced in the spring, would provide farmers with incentives for growing certain […]

Writer breaks down the immigration issue

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From reporter Dan Wheat in the Capital Press (Salem, Ore.), Thursday, May 13, 2010: If illegal immigration was an easy issue it would have been solved by now. For most of us who are not immersed in the subject it is easy to adopt the sound bite of the side we lean toward. It’s much […]

Approval process announced for legal butterfly bush cultivars

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Some say the butterfly bush is beautiful, but in Oregon, it’s also invasive. On January 1, 2010, the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s ban on butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii and Buddleja varabilis) as a noxious weed took effect. This means the plant no longer can be transported, sold, offered for sale, grown or propagated in Oregon, […]