PORTLAND — A House committee has advanced a bill that would create a task force to study ways of lessening the damage that geese cause to Oregon farms.

Willamette Valley farmer Ron Dobbin says chasing off geese is a full-time job from the moment crops emerge as seedlings to the time the birds leave, which is generally around the end of April. If he doesn't pay such close attention, his fields will be devastated.

He hopes the task force can find ways to address the problem, but its options are limited by federal laws.

A wide-scale kill off, for example, is off limits because the cackling Canada goose is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

The bill passed Thursday now moves to the House floor. The Senate has already approved it.