THOUGHT PIECES

By Anne Marie Moss Guest columnist Anne Marie Moss is communications director at the Oregon Farm Bureau and shares insights gleaned since joining the organization in 2004.

Following up on his promise to reevaluate the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and identify gaps in funding, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that USDA plans to distribute additional financial assistance to those who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. USDA says the new initiative—USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers—will reach a broader set… USDA will distribute $12 billion in COVID relief

RLI is also proud to recognize the accomplishments of the APEX National Broker of the Yearrecipients in each of the following eight distinct land categories: BROKER OF THE YEAR IN AG LAND SALES – CROPS 2020 APEX National Broker of the Year Winners: issuu.com Nation’s Top-Producing Land Agents Recognized by Realtors® Land Institute APEX Awards… 2020 RLI Broker of the Year (Cropland) – Skye Root

Farmers, researchers, meteorologists, and others now have access to high-resolution NASA data on soil moisture, thanks to a new tool developed by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in collaboration with NASA and George Mason University. The tool, Crop Condition and Soil Moisture Analytics (Crop-CASMA), provides access to high-resolution data from NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive… NASA data powers new USDA Soil Moisture Portal

By Nikki Rogers, Skye Root & Brent Lawson Selling farmland for respectable prices requires effort, diligence, and target marketing. It can be easy to assume your farmland will bring top of market pricing as-is, but presentation and information are important. Having information like historical crop rotation, verifiable yield history, accurate water right information (depending on… Four Farmland Selling Tips

By Joseph Byrum In these uncertain times, tangible investments provide comfort to the risk averse. Unlike buying shares in a company enjoying a spike in publicity, or taking up more complex instruments like derivatives, land is something you can see, touch, and smell. Real holdings don’t just exist on a computer screen — they can… WHY REAL ASSETS LIKE FARMLAND ARE THE FUTURE

PLANTINGS OF CORN AND SOYBEANS WOULD BE 5% LARGER THAN LAST YEAR, CORN UP BY 1.2 MILLION ACRES, AND SOYBEANS UP BY 6.9 MILLION ACRES.

Elizabeth Weise – USA TODAY Across this central northern county, wind turbine blades slowly slice the cold air over winter-brown fields. The 67 wind turbines of the Meridian Way Wind Farm straddle dozens of farms and ranches, following the contours of the land and the eddies of the wind above it. The turbines are tall… Wind energy gives American farmers a new crop to sell in tough times

With an ever-growing population, farming is more important than it ever was before. 200 years ago, people were self-reliant and grew their own food to live, but now that is no longer the case. Farming methods have become more efficient to produce higher yields in order to keep up with the increasing demand for food… Cover Crops: Impacts to Long-Term Soil Fertility and Producer Bottom Line

By Lynda V. Mapes Seattle Times environment reporter For nearly three decades, the region has been stuck in unending litigation and spiraling costs as salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers decline toward extinction. But in a sweeping $34 billion proposal from an unlikely source, at an auspicious moment, comes a chance for a fresh… GOP congressman pitches $34 billion plan to breach Lower Snake River dams in new vision for Northwest