Evidently the Christmas tree association in Denmark was caught setting tree price guidelines in an attempt to stop members from undercutting each other – a huge no-no under most countries’ anti-trust guidelines. Authorities there have issued a 400,000 kroner fine — in our dollars, that’s about $79,470, or quite a few trees’ worth.
Metro visits with nursery industry representatives
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Metro, the regional planning agency, recently released its recommendations for which parcels immediately surrounding the Portland area should remain rural – and which should be targeted for urban development – over the next 50 years. Any changes in land use would have a huge effect on the nursery industry, which occupies a fair portion of this […]
APHIS considers regulating wood in shipping
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The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is considering proposed rule changes involving wood packaging material used in domestic commerce, such as crates, pallets and sticks. Nurseries commonly use pallets and sticks when shipping plant material, but such wood material unwittingly could transport unwanted and dangerous hitchhikers, such as the emerald ash borer and […]
PURS requirements suspended
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The Oregon Department of Agriculture passed along word that the formerly-mandatory Pesticide Use Reporting System (PURS) is on hold due to budget cutbacks: As directed by the State Legislature, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has suspended its Pesticide Use Reporting System (PURS) until January 2013 at the earliest. Those required to report their pesticide use […]
An attorney’s view
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Yesterday, we promised you analysis. Today, here it is. Labor law attorney Ron Guerra takes a look at how the end of the No Match Rule – and the administration’s concurrent support for the E-Verify program – will affect employers.
Knocked for a hoop
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This spring, the Oregon Department of Revenue (ODR) proposed a rule change that would tax hoop houses as if they were permanent structures – a move that could greatly add to the tax bills of growers who own dozens if not hundreds of the poly-film enclosures. OAN Director of Government Relations Jeff Stone testified before […]
How the public feels
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How do Oregonians feel about agriculture? A recent public opinion survey by Conkling, Fiskum & McCormick revealed opinion trends on a number of issues, from water use to pesticides to organic farming. The Oregon Department of Agriculture outlined several of the most significant results in a press release. Among those results, a strong majority favors […]
Employer alert: COBRA changes
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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, otherwise known as the “stimulus package,” includes a 65 percent health insurance premium subsidy for eligible workers who use the COBRA program after being involuntarily terminated. This federally-paid benefit, which lasts for up to nine months, is intended to help former employees avert a major drain on […]
Control area established for filberts
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The Oregon Department of Agriculture has declared that the entire state is now a control area for Eastern filbert blight (EFB) (download the order: PDF). Officials took action because a new, more virulent strain of the blight was detected on the East Coast. As a result of the declaration, movement of Corylus nursery stock into […]
Attention English laurel growers
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Growers of Prunus laurocerasus cultivars (including English laurel, cherry laurel, ‘Skip’ and ‘Otto Luyken’) are advised that the species was added to California’s cherry fruit fly host list. All such plants must be certified before being shipped into California. “Certification for laurel into California is possible, albeit difficult and time-consuming,” Oregon Department of Agriculture horticulturalist […]
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