Agriculture

Agriculture has long been a staple of Oregon’s economy, providing the nation and the world with a wide variety of products including onions, wheat, and cattle from Eastern Oregon; salmon and cranberries from the Oregon Coast; berries, hazelnuts, and nursery products from Willamette Valley; and pears and apples from the Columbia Gorge.  Our state’s farms provide good jobs and drive the rural economy.

Merkley, Panetta Lead the Charge to Protect Monarch Butterflies

Lawmakers also introduce bipartisan resolution marking National Pollinator Week Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) today teamed up to introduce the Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat (MONARCH) Act. The bicameral bill would help prevent the extinction of the Western Monarch butterfly and

Merkley: Forest Service Dangerously Unprepared for Wildfire Season

Washington, D.C. – Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) issued the following statement after a hearing with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz on the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the agency: “Forest Service Chief Schultz’s testimony only underscored the immense, serious challenges facing communities

Merkley Remarks at Forest Service Budget Hearing with Chief Schultz

Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—the Ranking Member of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee—delivered the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the hearing reviewing the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service with Chief Tom Schultz: Senator Merkley’s remarks, as prepared for

Heinrich, Murray, Klobuchar, Merkley Slam USDA for Evasive Response on Wildfire Mitigation Projects, Workforce Cuts, and Funding Freezes

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, along with U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Slam Trump Administration’s Attacks on Senior Nutrition Programs

“The cuts will exacerbate hunger, poor health, and social isolation” Washington D.C.—U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both D-Ore, said today they have joined fellow Senate leaders to call on Republicans to reconsider disastrous cuts and attacks on programs and agencies that support seniors with food assistance among other necessities. “We are writing today to express our

en_USEnglish