Mary Anne Cooper

Last week, the Oregon Farm Bureau joined a broad coalition of businesses from across the state filing a challenge to the state’s Climate Protection Program rules. Mary Anne Cooper, Vice President of Government Affairs at OFB, says the rules promoted by Governor Kate Brown and enacted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality are an effort to institute Cap & Trade measures after the id

On Monday, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 892, directing the state Department of Agriculture to establish a disaster assistance program. Lawmakers allocated $40 million to a new, one-of-a-kind program to help mitigate economic losses farmers and ranchers suffered because of natural disasters in 2021, which included an ice storm, record heat, drought and wildfire smoke ...

The Ag, as well as the non-Ag communities in Oregon are being warned of a push to get an initiative on the ballot that could dramatically impact farming across the state. IP-13 would make it a crime to fish and hunt, but it would also remove a lot of the exemptions the Ag community currently enjoys ...

Last year it was House Bill 2020.   This year, it’s Senate Bill 1530.   Regardless of the number, Salem is look at instituting a Cap and Trade program in Oregon.  The Oregon Farm Bureau said Cap and Trade would have a significant negative impact on producers across the state, regardless of commodity.  One component of S...

As we prepare for a new year, the Oregon Farm Bureau is reminding producers the importance of being active, and having their voice heard.  Mary Anne Cooper with the OFB said while rural portions of the state may feel their concerns are being ignored, she notes when farmers speak up, Salem must take note.  ...

With the legislative sessions in full affect in Olympia and Salem, farmers often feel their concerns are not represented in state government.  Mary Anne Cooper, public policy director with the Oregon Farm Bureau, said farmers cannot be discouraged, and they need to continue to tell their story not only to educate lawmakers, but their neighbors as well.  ...

The 2019 Oregon legislative session gets underway in Salem Tuesday, and the Oregon Farm Bureau says Cap and Trade and Wolves will be the top two issues the farming community should watch.  When it comes to Cap and Trade, OFB expressed concern that Oregon is trying to follow the lead of California.  OF...