Cattle

As the legislative session heats up, here’s how Oregon Republicans are gaining ground within the state’s Democratic supermajority.

Oregon CattleWomen have championed the T-bone as the official state steak, due to its two distinct sides like Oregon, with a split like the Cascades down the middle.

Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that's different from the version that has spread in herds since last year.

Oregon State University researchers want to find a way to make your hamburger less bad for the planet. They’re doing that by feeding cows a food that’s not grown on land — seaweed.

On Friday, a broad coalition of environmental and farm groups sent a petition to Oregon's governor Tina Kotek asking her to stop new and expanding confined animal feeding operation, or CAFOs. The petition follows significant reforms to that permit signed into law last year.

Researchers at Washington State University will track respiratory viruses that could spread between livestock animals and humans. That includes the avian flu strain that has recently jumped from birds to dairy cattle, and from cattle to at least two people.

In late March, a handful of dairy cattle tested positive for a strain of bird flu in two herds in Texas. Now it's spread across seven other states — including Idaho. There are no active cases in Oregon, though officials are on high alert.

There are nearly 30 dairy herds throughout eight states, including Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, South Dakota, North Carolina and Ohio, that have been infected with bird flu. So far, there are no reported cases in Washington or Oregon.

A handful of dairy herds have tested positive for a strain of bird flu across five states so far — including Idaho. Oregon Agriculture officials say they are developing a plan to respond if the virus comes here.

For the first time, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is putting together a plan for the Powder River Basin’s total maximum daily load, a plan they will use to try to lower E. coli levels in the basin.