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Oregon LNG foes try new strategy to block project

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Wed, 02/04/2015 - 06:13

Southern Oregon communities along a proposed natural gas pipeline route are looking for creative ways to stop the project. Douglas and Coos County residents hope a Community Bill of Rights will give them a legal avenue to assert local control.  

The pipeline for the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export terminal in Coos Bay would run through the property of Stacey McLaughlin. She doesn’t want it there. And speaking out before government officials has been less than satisfying.  

“It feels like a waste of my time,” she said.  

So McLaughlin is organizing her Douglas County neighbors to enact a community bill of rights. It would give cities and counties the legal grounds to say no to projects that violate local values.  

The group met Friday with Kai Huschke of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to discuss their options going forward. Huschke said many communities have little to no recourse against state and federally approved projects.  

“So folks are actually moving law to assert that right. That right of government to say no to things like pipelines, and yes to sustainable energy futures,” Huschke said.  

McLaughlin said the Douglas County group is early in the process. Community members are working on language for their community bill of rights, which may eventually include fossil fuel and community health provisions.    

“I think it will create an opportunity for reason and rational thinking to start being the approach we take as citizens in this community,” McLaughlin said, “instead of just settling for somebody just walks in the door and says, ‘hey here’s what you have to do.’”  

In neighboring Coos County, residents are collecting signatures to put a similar measure on the May ballot.   It is uncertain if these types of local ordinances will be legally effective.  

“We’re just now beginning to see where the courts for instance stand in regards to either recognizing corporate rights or that of community rights in rejecting harmful corporate projects,” Huschke said.  

He said about 200 communities in nine states have already passed community bills of rights.  

Several in the Northwest are embracing the idea. Voters in Benton County, Oregon, will vote this May on a Community Bill of Rights targeting food security. An organizing group in Spokane could also have a community rights measure on the ballot in 2015.

Local girl to compete in Miss Coos County pageant Saturday

The Miss Coos County Scholarship Pageant will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on the Southwestern Oregon Community College campus in Coos Bay…

Oregon bird control fireworks bill moves to House floor

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Tue, 02/03/2015 - 10:34

Legislation that would expand the use of fireworks to repel birds in Oregon will be voted on by the state House after key lawmakers recommended passing the bill.

House Bill 2432, which would broaden the use of fireworks beyond protecting crops and forest products, moved to the House floor with a unanimous “do pass” recommendation from the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Feb. 3.

The bill would allow the state fire marshal to issue permits for using fireworks at golf courses, landfills, airports, seafood facilities and other properties, in addition to farms and forests.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal stopped issuing fireworks permits for golf courses and landfills to scare off geese and other birds in 2010, after it was brought to the agency’s attention that such uses were limited by law to farms and forests, said Anita Phillips, license and permits manager for the agency.

The bill would clarify the law and allow the state agency to again issue such permits, she said.

The agency doesn’t expect more than 50 additional applications as a result of the change, Phillips said.

Representatives of the Oregon Farm Bureau, the Humane Society of the United States and the Oregon Humane Society all urged committee members to support the legislation, though they mentioned some concerns.

Animal advocates said that fireworks must be used responsibly because they can frighten pets, while the Oregon Farm Bureau noted there are only two wholesale fireworks dealers who can sell to farmers and other property owners in the state.

During the Feb. 3 hearing, the committee also moved House Bill 2475, which would authorize penalties of up to $100 for veterinarians who commit minor infractions, to the floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

The fines would be the equivalent of a “traffic ticket” for minor violations, such as failing to notify regulators of an address change, that would not reflect negatively on a veterinarian’s disciplinary record, said Lori Makinen, director of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board.

The committee held a hearing on another bill — House Bill 2474 — that would require the registration and regulation of veterinary facilities to ensure they meet state standards.

Currently, state regulators only have authority over veterinarians, not facilities, which could create problems if substandard conditions were found at a clinic owned by a corporation or non-veterinarian, said Makinen.

However, the committee held off on referring the bill to the House floor pending further discussion and possible amendments.

OSU touts effort to improve rural life in Oregon

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Tue, 02/03/2015 - 08:30

PORTLAND – Oregon State University’s commitment to improve life in rural Oregon will includes major expansion of its forestry and marine sciences programs and strengthening the statewide system of agricultural and forest research and extension stations, President Ed Ray said.

Ray, in Portland Jan. 30 to deliver his “state of the university” address, met afterward with the Pamplin Media Group’s editorial board and the Capital Press.

He said Oregon State’s forestry, marine science and other initiatives are in line with Gov. John Kitzhaber’s goal of bringing economic prosperity to a wider slice of the population. Rural Oregon has not fully shared in the economic recovery enjoyed by urban areas such as Portland, Ray said.

In 2017, OSU will open a $60 million forest science complex that will focus on research and development of advanced wood products that can be used in high-rise buildings, Ray said. The center will increase the value of Oregon’s wood products and restore jobs to rural areas where natural resources are located and can be milled.

Money for the forestry center will be split between $30 million in state bonding and $30 million in private fund raising. Ray said OSU’s wood products expertise could be paired with the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts

An anonymous donor has pledged $20 million toward construction of a new building at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Ray said. Up to 500 students will be studying at the center by 2025, and coastal communities will benefit from the development, research and education associated with it, he said. The governor has asked the Legislature to match the gift with $25 million in bonding authority.

In another development significant to rural Oregon, the OSU-Cascades campus in Bend will expand next fall to accomodate four-year students, Ray said.

On another front, OSU is part of an 11-university alliance working to increase admission, retention and graduation rates for low-income, minority and first-generation students.

Ray said inequality in the U.S. higher education system is such that a student from a family with an annual household income of $90,000 or more has a 1-in-2 chance of graduating from college, while a student from a family making $30,000 or less has only a 1-in-17 chance.

“We are in the process of creating a country of haves and have nots,” Ray said, “which tears at the fabric of our society and undermines our democracy.”

Regarding the 2015-17 state budget, the OSU Board of Trustees has recommended $123 million for statewide programs that include ag research stations, extension programs and forest research. The figure includes $16 million for new or expanded programs dealing with sustainable landscapes, water quality and quantity, public health and food safety, technology for “value-added” manufacturing and workforce training.

Ray said he’s been disappointed at an apparent lack of understanding about the value of OSU’s statewide programs and how they bridge the urban-rural divide.

“Why it is that programs that are 100 years old have to fight so damn hard to get a dime?” he asked.

On other topics, Ray said the OSU’s enrollment now tops 30,000, counting the main campus in Corvallis, the Cascades campus and on-line students. In December, the university completed a seven-year capital campaign that raised $1.14 billion for construction, scholarships and faculty endowments. The donors included 190 who gave $1 million or more. The campaign is paying for 28 new buildings or renovation projects, 79 new faculty positions and more than 600 new scholarship and fellowship funds.

ODA approves rules for Oregon hemp production

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Tue, 02/03/2015 - 06:32

The Oregon Department of Agriculture is optimistic the state’s first industrial hemp crops will be planted this spring.

The department last week adopted administrative rules that will govern production and handling, plus licensing of growers. The process culminated a long struggle by hemp backers, who maintain hemp can be used for clothing, food, cosmetics, oils and other purposes.

State approval was hung up for years by federal drug laws, which classify industrial hemp the same as marijuana. Oregon voters approved hemp production last November in the same measure that legalized recreational use, possession and cultivation of pot.

The rules define production and handling requirements while establishing a permit and licensing process for growers of industrial hemp, which includes fees associated with ODA’s program. With the adoption of the rules, ODA is expecting a crop to be planted this spring as permits will soon be issued.

Under state law, licenses to grow or handle industrial hemp fiber and permits to grow agricultural hemp cost $1,500 and are valid for three years. Hemp fields must be at least 2.5 contiguous acres, and the crop must contain less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to distinguish it from marijuana, which has much higher THC levels.

Hemp production is still illegal under federal law, and the feds may still be a roadblock to Oregon production. Oregon ag department spokesman Bruce Pokarney said hemp seed for planting is available only in Canada, and bringing it to Oregon will require approval by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

“That’s the next hurdle we need to clear,” Pokarney said.

Water supply outlook bleak for E. Oregon farmers

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Mon, 02/02/2015 - 11:54

ONTARIO, Ore. — Easter Oregon farmers’ hopes for a normal water year in 2015 are fading fast.

There is about 30,000 acre-feet more water stored in the Owyhee Reservoir than at this point in 2014, and snowpack levels are slightly ahead of where they were this time last year.

But last year was disastrous for farmers who depend on the Owyhee Project, which supplies water to 118,000 acres of irrigated land in Eastern Oregon and parts of Southwestern Idaho.

The annual allotment for farmers who get their water from the Owyhee Irrigation District was slashed from the usual 4 acre-feet to 1.7 acre-feet last year. Despite that, the system stopped delivering water in August, two months earlier than normal.

An estimated 20 percent of farm ground in Eastern Oregon was left idle last year in anticipation of the low water year.

“The good news is we’re a little better than last year,” said OID Watermaster J.L. Eldred. “The bad news is we’re still not in good shape.”

Basin-wide, total snowpack was at 74 percent of normal Feb. 2.

While there is about 114,000 acre-feet of available irrigation water stored in the reservoir, there is typically more than 300,000 acre-feet at this point during a normal water year, said Bruce Corn, a farmer and member of OID’s board of directors.

“We’re in a little better position than we were last year at this time but we still need a lot more snow to have an adequate irrigation season,” he said. “Right now, there is a lot of uncertainty and concern.”

High-pressure weather systems over the Treasure Valley area have mostly kept storms at bay this winter, said OID Manager Jay Chamberlin.

“We’re really losing ground out there pretty fast,” he said. “We need to ... get rid of these high-pressure systems and get some storms. It’s getting kind of serious.”

The only real good news is that Owyhee River flow levels near the reservoir have risen quickly following rain storms, which is an indication the ground is wet, Corn said. “That’s something we did not see last year.”

Owyhee basin snowpack levels aren’t terrible but three straight dry years have compounded the water supply situation, said Julie Koeberle, a hydrologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service snow survey program in Oregon.

While reservoir storage levels are above last year’s totals, “That’s really just a drop in the bucket from what they actually need,” she said. “They really have a long ways to go.”

There is time for improvement, she said, but if the situation hasn’t improved by the first part of March, “the message will be to brace for a low water supply.”

Irrigators aren’t sounding the alarm yet, she said, “But they’re raising their eyebrows.”

Chamberlin said farmers are “hoping to pick up a couple of good storms in February and get this turned around.” But at the moment, he added, “It’s not looking good for us.”

Official: Nursery imports may pose pest threat

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Fri, 01/30/2015 - 07:48

PORTLAND — Wyatt Williams, an invasive species specialist with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said afterward he felt like he was entering the lion’s den. He was about to tell members of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, the most valuable sector of state agriculture, about a problem that would “send ripples through your industry and my field, forest health.”

Specifically, the importation of live plants into Oregon and the U.S. is a primary pathway for invasive insects and pathogens, some of which could cause severe damage to forests in particular.

Williams, invited to speak during the Northwest Agricultural Show in Portland, was hired in 2012 as the state forestry department’s first invasive species specialist. He said there was a 500 percent increase in live plant imports to the U.S. from 1967 to 2009, and about 4 billion plants arrive in the country each year. Federal monitoring is done at 18 stations with only 63 full-time inspectors, he said, and standard inspections may miss an estimated 72 percent of pests.

“We’re missing stuff at the ports of entry,” Williams said. “Something’s broken there.”

By backtracking invasives and comparing shipping records, experts deduced that 69 percent of invasive insects and diseases arrived with live plants, he said.

Oregon’s nursery industry officials say they’re well aware of the problem. The Oregon Association of Nurseries endorses a systems management approach detailed in a 106-page publication, “Safe Production and Procurement Manual.” The manual, available online at http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.oan.org/resource/resmgr/imported/pdf/SafeProduction.pdf, lays out best practices for greenhouses and nurseries to detect pests and diseases and respond quickly if they appear.

Regarding plant imports, the manual recommends checking to see if the material is already available in the U.S. If so, producers can save time and money while reducing risk.

If it must be imported, the handbook recommends growers find an officially accredited nursery in the exporting country and have the material grown out for at least one year or one growing season. It also should be inspected, tested and evaluated in the source country before shipment, or evaluated at an accredited facility in the U.S. prior to commercial increase, according to the manual.

Jeff Stone, OAN executive director, said in an email that the manual is an industry standard and has been used as a model elsewhere. It also helped shape USDA policy governing interstate shipment of plant material.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture also collaborates with the industry to keep pests and diseases out of Oregon, said Helmuth Rogg, the department’s Plant Program director.

“We are all in the same boat,” Rogg said in a prepared statement. “We want to protect our industry, and our state, for that matter, from dangerous plant pests that could be associated with live plant material coming into Oregon.”

The department has regulations in place and uses quarantines to keep pests out of the state, he said. The department also sets thousands of traps to monitor for pests, he said.

Williams, with the state forestry department, said cross-department and industry collaboration is key to keeping invasive insects and diseases under control.

The biggest threat on the horizon is the emerald ash borer, which hasn’t made it to Oregon yet but has killed an estimated 100 million trees in 24 states since it was detected in 2002, Williams said.

Oregon ash grows in wetlands that provide habitat for “all kinds of animals,” he said. An infestation that wiped out Oregon ash could pose any number of problems, he said. The city of Denver, where ash make up 15 percent of the city trees, estimated it would cost $1 billion to remove and replace every ash, Williams said. Portland has an estimated 72,000 ash trees in public places, he added. Williams said he’s placed traps in Oregon ash groves and monitors them for presence of the emerald ash borer.

Other diseases and bugs of concern include gypsy moth, the azalea lace bug, sudden oak death and thousand cankers disease, William said.

City sees carbon credits as forest revenue source

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Fri, 01/30/2015 - 07:11

ASTORIA, Ore. — In an innovative trade-off, Astoria has agreed not to aggressively harvest timber in the Bear Creek watershed over the next decade in return for carbon credits that could help industrial polluters offset carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change.

The city is partnering with The Climate Trust, a Portland nonprofit that would purchase the carbon credits. Utilities with fossil-fuel driven power plants pay the trust to find projects that offset pollution and meet the requirements of Oregon’s landmark emission standards law.

By committing to a less aggressive timber harvest at Bear Creek, Astoria could receive about $358,750 in carbon credits after expenses this year and about $130,000 annually for the next nine years. The first year has the most significant potential value because it is based on the city’s existing inventory of timber, while the value for the following years is tied to growth.

“We commit to harvest less than what we could and we then can monetize that,” said Michael Barnes, the city’s consulting forester.

Carbon-dioxide emissions are the most prevalent greenhouse gas from human activity and are tied to global warming. The ocean, soil, atmosphere and forests act as carbon “sinks” that absorb more carbon than is released, so preserving forests can help store carbon and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

The Climate Trust was created to help achieve Oregon’s landmark 1997 law that set standards for carbon-dioxide emissions at power plants. The trust’s projects have led to an estimated 2 million tons of emission reductions, the equivalent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 421,000 passenger vehicles.

“One of the things that’s appealing about this project is it’s providing a financial incentive to decrease the harvest in an area that’s really providing clean drinking water to the city of Astoria,” said Mik McKee, The Climate Trust’s senior project analyst for forestry.

McKee said there would be “greater attention paid toward conservation, and clean water, and forest health. And that’s a really appealing thing on a local scale, because that’s going to translate for the citizens of Astoria and the people in the community.

“On a larger scale, this is a harder concept to explain … but trees sequester carbon. So these trees that aren’t being cut are going to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere that, theoretically — at the most simple level — (is) being emitted by the Oregon utilities that are essentially paying through The Climate Trust to have these carbon offsets retired.”

The Astoria City Council approved the project with The Climate Trust in December.

The city already harvests less timber than it could from the 3,700-acre Bear Creek watershed to help protect the drinking water supply.

Based on a 3 percent annual growth rate, Barnes said the city could harvest about 3 million board feet a year and not deplete an inventory of about 100 million board feet of standing mature timber.

But the city harvests about 750,000 board feet of timber a year. Last year, the harvest was larger — just under 850,000 board feet — and the city netted about $350,000 for the capital improvement fund.

Revenue from the carbon credits would also go into the capital improvement fund.

“The harvest level that we’re able to do annually under this program is no different than what we’ve been doing,” said Ken Cook, Astoria Public Works director. “So this is not crimping our style necessarily. The level we’ve been harvesting ensures that the water quality is not harmed.”

Oregon snowpack at record lows

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Fri, 01/30/2015 - 06:50

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s mountain snowpack, vital for farms, fish and ski resorts, is posting record low depths despite normal precipitation.

The reason is persistent warm weather this winter.

Natural Resources Conservation Service hydrologist Julie Koeberle says there is time for things to improve, but expectations are low. Long-range forecasts call for warm weather, with no clear indication whether it will be wetter or drier than normal. Meanwhile, some snow measurement sites are their lowest since the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

“It really depends on what happens in February,” Koeberle said. “Come March, the writing will be on the wall for sure.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought spreading and intensifying across Oregon, except for the coast and the Willamette Valley. With rains not heavy enough to overcome persistent dry conditions, 2015 is likely to be the third straight year of drought in southern parts of the state, she said.

High temperatures in the western half of the state have left current snowpack measurements low: 16 percent of normal for the Willamette Valley, 28 percent for central Oregon, 18 percent for the Rogue-Umpqua region, and 17 percent for the Klamath Basin. Things are better in eastern Oregon, where temperatures have been lower. Snowpacks ranged from 47 percent in the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Willow basins, to 79 percent in the Harney and Owyhee basins.

Precipitation throughout Oregon has been normal or near normal since the Oct. 1 start of the water year, despite a dry January, according to the service.

The reservoirs behind major dams operated by the Army Corps of Engineers in the Willamette Basin generally do not start filling until the beginning of February, said corps spokesman Scott Clemans. Overall, they are 5 percent full. In the Rogue Basin, reservoirs are 44 percent full. Lost Creek Dam reservoir is filling, but Applegate is not.

Clemans said in recent years, heavy rains have arrived in late spring in time to fill reservoirs.

Snow that builds up in the mountains serves as a natural reservoir, feeding streams and replenishing groundwater as it melts.

“We are really kind of staring climate change right in the eye right now,” said Kathie Dello, associated director of the Oregon Climate Change Institute at Oregon State University.

While there will still be plentiful snowpacks in some years, overall the trend is for them to decline as average temperatures continue to rise, she said.

“Last year we had a bad fire season, and that is in part due to the lack of snow,” which left the ground bare, and prone to dry out, she added.

Bank claims local cranberry farm owners committed fraud

BANDON — The owners of a third-generation Bandon cranberry farm have been charged with playing a “shell game” by hiding assets in order to keep from paying almost three-quarters of a million d…

Potato leaders address port slowdown impacts

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Thu, 01/29/2015 - 06:38

KENNEWICK, Wash. — The best thing potato farmers can do about the labor slowdown at West Coast ports is provide numbers about the impacts on their industry, says the head of Oregon’s Department of Agriculture.

“Use real examples — how are you being directly impacted or how is your industry being directly impacted?” department Director Katy Coba said during the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference in Kennewick, Wash. “That makes a difference.”

Coba urged growers to share their concerns with federal congressional representatives as well as state representatives.

Mediations appeared to be moving forward with resolution of a contentious issue, Coba said, but she received a text Jan. 27 that no International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers reported to duty.

“It’s going to take years to overcome what’s going on right now,” said Bill Brewer, Oregon Potato Commission executive director.

Brewer said the commission was 20 percent ahead of collections of assessments in November, compared to the same time period the year before. In December, it was back to even. As of Jan. 15, the commission is 20 percent behind, he said.

“That is directly related to the amount of potatoes being processed that should be exported,” Brewer said. “The processors can’t process them, they don’t have any more storage or freezer space available. Their customers are wanting product, we cannot get it to them.”

John Toaspern, chief marketing officer for the U.S. Potato Board, said the port slowdown is one of three issues impacting potato exports, alongside a large European potato crop and the strength of the U.S. dollar compared to the euro, Japanese yen and other currency.

Before the slowdown, U.S. frozen potato exports from July to October of the present marketing year were off 8 percent, Toaspern said. With the slowdown, frozen exports are off 38 percent. Ports are running at 50 percent capacity at best, Toaspern said.

“We are going to see some tough numbers this year, but hopefully those three factors can be corrected moving forward,” he said. “The long-term prospects for exports are still outstanding. Demand for potatoes and products worldwide continues to grow.”

Also during the conference:

• Washington Potato Commission executive director Chris Voigt urged farmers to ask seed growers for plant health certificates, in effort to better control viruses. The industry is beginning to see more strains of Potato Virus Y producing necrotic symptoms in tubers.

“We have an opportunity to solve that problem now, but it’s really important you know the quality of the seed you have,” Voigt said.

• Coba expects more legislation in Oregon related to pesticides, particularly aerial applications, citing public concerns about human health and drinking water impacts.

“We had a couple of very high-profile misuse, and unfortunately, that makes it difficult for those of us that are using our tools properly,” she said, advising the industry to speak with legislators directly.

Bird flu quarantine lifted in Douglas County, Ore.

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Thu, 01/29/2015 - 05:42

The Oregon Department of Agriculture on Wednesday lifted a quarantine in Douglas County imposed after highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed Dec. 19 in a non-commercial flock in Winston.

Bird flu has not been detected elsewhere in Douglas County since then, according to ODA.

With the quarantine lifted, poultry and poultry products can now be moved within the county.

A quarantine placed by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture following the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a non-commercial flock in Canyon County on Jan. 16 includes a small portion of Malheur County in Oregon along the Snake River.

Movement of poultry and poultry products into or out of the Oregon portion in the quarantine zone is allowed only with a permit that can be obtained by calling ODA at 1-800-347-7028.

The Washington Department of Agriculture on Tuesday lifted a quarantine in parts of Benton and Franklin counties. Two backyard flocks were infected with bird flu in early January. A quarantine remains in place in Clallam County, where another non-commercial flock was found to be infected Jan. 16.

Highly pathogenic bird flu was confirmed Jan. 23 at a Foster Farms turkey farm in Stanislaus, Calif. Some 145,000 birds were euthanized.

Teams show off potato peeling skills

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Wed, 01/28/2015 - 06:57

KENNEWICK, Wash. — No blood, no glory when it comes to peeling spuds.

The Washington-Oregon Potato Conference kicked off Jan. 27 in Kennewick, Wash., and included the first potato peeling competition.

“We’re excited this year that the conference had the opportunity to expand,” said Ryan Holterhoff, QQQ for the Washington State Potato Commission.

The conference increased by 40 exhibits to and expanded from the Three Rivers Convention Center into the Toyota Center next door. Holterhoff said the competition will encourage attendees to move between both buildings.

Conference board members hatched upon the idea to offer a potato peeling contest.

Six teams of three competed, paying a $100 entry fee. The conference is sharing proceeds with the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center agriculture exhibit in Richland, Wash.

The first three teams had 90 seconds to peel as many potatoes as possible using contest-assigned peelers, followed by the next three teams. The winners from the first two rounds then squared off for the title, and were given two minutes to peel as many potatoes as cleanly as possible.

Priscilla Griffith, Minerva Garnica and Jesse Mercado of AgWorld Support Systems in Moses Lake, Wash., took home the trophy.

The winning team said their company CEO informed them they would be competing.

“We’re here to support our growers and processors, just like we do in our everyday duties,” Mercado said.

They did not practice beforehand. Garnica attributed the victory to wanting the win.

Bandages were on hand, which was good — Griffith actually cut herself during the competition, requiring her team’s table to be swapped out before the next round.

The teams peeled a test variety potato, A06021-1T, supplied by Washington State University potato specialist Mark Pavek, based in Pullman, Wash.

The variety has a high fresh-pack yield, stores well and doesn’t seem to bruise too badly, Pavek said.

The Russet variety is also on the lunch menu in order to see what attendees think of its taste, Pavek said.

Pavek said the variety has been raised in regional trials in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Texas, and still has four years before it would be released commercially.

Holterhoff hopes to continue the peeling contest next year, and beyond.

“I think there will be a lot of people hanging around, kind of wanting to see what this is,” Holterhoff predicted before the competition. “It may be one of those things that we’ll get a few people involved this year and I would expect that next year there will be more interest and teams wanting to sign up and participate.”

Medford Darigold plant to close at end of February

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Wed, 01/28/2015 - 06:06

MEDFORD, Ore. — Medford’s last milk processing plant will shutter Feb. 28, putting 29 employees out of work.

Seattle-based Darigold is the nation’s fourth-largest dairy cooperative based on milk volume and one of the largest privately held companies in Washington state, with annual revenue of more than $2 billion.

“The need to significantly upgrade the facility to maintain compliance with food safety, employee safety and environmental regulations, and the plant’s distance from its core markets, among other reasons, led to the decision to close the plant,” Darigold said in a news release.

For several years, Darigold has recognized the aging plant, just west of the Rogue Valley Mall, required improvements. In 2013, the company announced plans to upgrade the waste-water system at the plant, installing two 16,500-gallon tanks, as part of a multi-year modernization of its 12 facilities in five states.

“Medford is an old facility and it is becoming more and more of a struggle to keep effective and efficient handling of waste water,” Steve Rowe, senior vice president of corporate affairs, said at the time.

Consolidation has been a part of the industry for decades as distribution and ownership changed.

“The closure of Darigold’s Medford milk processing plant is the next step in that continuing pattern,” the company said. “Newer, more modern facilities can provide customers, dairies and the public a higher degree of reliable food safety, employee safety and protection of the environment. While this decision is not taken lightly, it is necessary to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers and the broader community that relies on the safe and environmentally sound production of high quality dairy products throughout the region.”

Darigold will continue to operate its 11 other processing sites.

Darigold operates 11 manufacturing and processing plants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. Five manufacturing plants — Chehalis, Lynden and Sunnyside, Wash.; Caldwell and Jerome, Idaho — processed 5.3 billion pounds of milk and 845 million pounds of finished products during the most recent fiscal year. Those sites operate in tandem with Issaquah, Wash., Seattle, Spokane, Boise, Bozeman, Mont., Portland, and until now Medford.

Which of the packaging plants will take on the additional work created by the local closure remains unknown.

“Those decisions have not been made yet,” Darigold spokesperson Michelle Carter said.

A half-century ago, local dairy operations were plentiful with dozens in some counties. Today, there are six milk processing plants in the state. What changes, if any, consumers may see won’t immediately be known.

“It’s a little too early to tell,” said Umpqua Dairy President Doug Feldkamp, who oversees the closest production plant to Medford. “Distribution systems have definitely improved over the years. Everybody is reaching out farther. I’m sure Darigold’s distribution to Southern Oregon is not predicated on having a plant there.”

Darigold and Umpqua are the primary dairy suppliers for Southern Oregon, each handling private label contracts as well.

“Any time a milk plant stops production it brings a change in our industry, for sure,” Feldkamp said. “This will idle some workers, which is too bad.”

Darigold’s Medford management and staff were not immediately available for interviews. The company’s website lists 26 job openings, including five in Portland.

Umpqua has a distribution warehouse in Central Point off Hamrick Road.

“Potentially we could have use for some of them,” Feldkamp said. “We’re always looking for good people.”

Wolf survey results ease restrictions for some Oregon ranchers

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Tue, 01/27/2015 - 13:58

An annual wolf population survey shows seven breeding pairs in Oregon, enough to meet the state’s conservation objective in Eastern Oregon and to give ranchers more leeway to protect livestock.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which regulates the state’s wolf recovery plan, said the survey count is a milestone.

“In the past seven years, Oregon has gone from no known wolves, to resident and reproducing wolves, and now to meeting our conservation objective for the eastern part of the state.” ODFW wolf program coordinator Russ Morgan said in prepared statement.

The count moves Oregon’s wolf plan, at least in Eastern Oregon, to Phase 2. Livestock owners are still encouraged to use non-lethal means to protect livestock, but now may shoot wolves that are chasing livestock. Previously, producers could shoot wolves only if they were “biting, wounding or killing” livestock or working dogs, and then only if other conditions were met.

Todd Nash, a Wallowa County rancher and chairman of the Oregon Cattlemen Association wolf committee, told the East Oregonian it is highly unlikely for producers to actually catch a wolf causing trouble in the pasture. The rule does, however, make them feel a little more empowered than they were before.

“We didn’t want wolves to begin with,” Nash said. “We’re trying to get along as best we can in the political climate we live in.”

The next step in Oregon’s wolf management may include removing wolves from the state endangered species list. Nash said the state Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider that at its April meeting, take public comment and vote on the proposal in July or August.

“I’m confident that the commission will vote for it,” Nash said. “I have confidence that the department (ODFW) supports delisting.”

The state listing covers wolves only in Northeast Oregon. The federal Endangered Species Act covers wolves in the rest of the state.

Cascadia Wildlands, an environmental group that took part in developing Oregon’s wolf recovery plan, said the survey result is encouraging but “it is not the time to let up.”

“It is our hope that (ODFW) continues to implement the state’s landmark wolf management plan and rules that have served as a recovery model for other states while preventing burdensome conflict,” legal director Nick Cady said in a news release.

Under the state wolf plan, a breeding pair is defined as a pair of adult wolves that produce at least two pups that survive to the end of the year. Of Oregon’s nine known packs, only the Imnaha pack does not have a breeding pair. The Umatilla pack has not yet been surveyed. Six of the seven breeding pairs are in Eastern Oregon; the other is the famous wanderer, OR-7, his mate and their pups in Southwest Oregon.

The Cattlemen Association passed a resolution at its annual meeting in December that supports lethal control of wolves in three cases: livestock losses, human health or safety and when game populations dip below management levels.

H5N1 bird flu found in Washington; little human health risk since

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Mon, 01/26/2015 - 08:18

A hunter-harvested duck in northwest Washington was infected with highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu, though the virus differs from the strain that has killed humans, a wildlife veterinarian said Friday.

“Genetically, it’s not the same,” Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Kristen Mansfield said.

The green-winged teal was shot Dec. 20 near Sumas in Whatcom County, close to where avian flu forced 245,600 birds at 11 British Columbia, Canada, farms to be euthanized between Dec. 1-17.

A U.S. Geological Survey laboratory confirmed Jan. 16 that the migratory duck was infected that with a bird flu virus that combined Eurasion and North American strains.

The virus is closely related to H5N2 and H5N8, the other two types that have appeared in wild birds, non-commercial poultry and captive falcons in the West this winter.

Some 402 humans have died from H5N1 since 2003, according to the World Health Organization.

Washington Department of Health spokesman Donn Moyer said officials do not believe the genetically different strain found in the state poses an imminent human health risk.

“There’s never zero risk when it comes to bird flu, but the risk is very, very low,” he said.

Mansfield said ducks properly handled and cooked should be safe to eat.

Bird flu has now been detected in seven wild birds in five western states, five non-commercial poultry flocks in three states and in captive falcons in Washington and Idaho since Dec. 15.

The discoveries came after U.S. officials increased testing for the virus because of the B.C. outbreak. Until this winter, highly pathogenic bird flu had not been detected in the United States since a 7,000-chicken flock in Texas was infected in 2004.

Bird flu has not sickened humans or infected commercial poultry operations.

“Our commercial industry practices extreme biosecurity measures, and everyone is on heightened alert. We just hope nobody drops the ball,” USA Poultry and Egg Export Council President Jim Sumner said Friday.

Idaho officials Thursday set up a quarantine zone within 6 miles of where a backyard flock in southwest Idaho was infected with highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu. The flock was near Parma, close to the Oregon border, in Canyon County.

The quarantine restricts eggs, poultry or poultry products from moving inside and from the zone without a permit from the state.

“We have folks on the ground within the zone today (Friday) that are doing surveillance and notifying people,” State Veterinarian Bill Barton said.

The H5N2 virus was confirmed in the flock Jan. 16. The flock was immediately put under quarantine and the birds were euthanized.

The World Organization for Animal Health reported the flock of chickens and two ducks totaled 26 and were periodically allowed to range free.

“There was not any kind of commercial operation,” Barton said.

He said there are other backyard flocks inside the quarantine zone, but he knew of no commercial operations.

Also in Canyon County, three captive falcons fed wild duck were confirmed Jan. 12 to have had bird flu.

The USDA Wildlife Services and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game reported a hunter-harvested mallard duck tested positive for H2N8 on Jan. 16 in Gooding County.

Hunter-harvested ducks also have tested positive in Whatcom County, Wash.; Lane County, Ore.; Butte and Yolo counties in California; and Davis County, Utah.

The Oregon duck was a mallard found in the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area near Eugene.

Washington Department of Agriculture spokesman Hector Castro said a quarantine zone set up early this month around two infected backyard flocks in Benton and Franklin counties may be lifted soon.

WSDA and USDA officials tested birds from 68 premises in the quarantine zone and found no other cases of avian flu, Castro said. Twenty-one people in the zone declined to let their birds be tested, he said.

In Clallam County, WSDA established a quarantine zone around where about 100 chickens, geese and ducks were kept between Port Angeles and Sequim. The birds were infected with H5N2 and were euthanized Jan. 18.

Castro said officials have tested birds from 22 nearby premises. “So far, everything’s coming back negative for avian influenza,” he said.

Many countries and the 28-nation European Union have banned poultry raised, processed and shipped from Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Europe is not a major export market for U.S. poultry, but European ports provide access to customers in the Balkans and Africa.

Sumner said the industry is primarily concerned about bans on all U.S poultry by China, South Korea and South Africa. The countries provide markets for poultry products such as gizzards, livers and chicken feet that are not popular with U.S. consumers.

The discovery of more backyard flocks could prolong the bans. South Korea has a policy of not accepting any poultry from a country with a bird flu case in the past six months.

“We’re hoping that Korea will consider reducing that six months to a lesser period, but that’s not happened yet,” Sumner said.

Officials say bird flu is being spread by waterfowl that spend the summer in Alaska and northeast Asia and migrate south in the summer. Outbreaks have been reported recently throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East. New cases have been reported in the past week in Israel, the West Bank and Nigeria.

The World Health Organization reported 18 human cases of avian flu between Dec. 4 and Jan. 6. Most cases came from being exposed to poultry in households, WHO reported.

The only North American case occurred in 2014 when a man who had recently traveled from China died in Canada.

Sumner said he hoped countries will stop reflexively imposing trade restrictions, even though commercial poultry products have not been infected.

“There are just so many ongoing developments regarding avian influenza that I think some countries are starting to realize we’re in a different situation, a different era, and we’re going to have to look at things in a somewhat different manner,” he said.

Environmentalists protest ‘test case’ logging project

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Mon, 01/26/2015 - 07:40

PORTLAND — Environmentalists want to stop an Oregon timber project they claim is a “test case” for clear-cutting trees on the verge of becoming “old growth” stands.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management approved logging on 187 acres near Myrtle Creek, Ore., as part of the “White Castle” pilot project, which the non-profits Oregon Wild and Cascadia Wildlands believe will set a precedent for harvesting mature forests.

The groups claim the White Castle project is a “politically driven” attempt to increase logging on BLM property in Western Oregon to buttress “struggling timber-based economies” that should be enjoined by a federal judge.

The BLM has departed from its risk-averse strategy of thinning younger trees to instead focus on harvesting mature stands about to develop old growth characteristics, they said in a lawsuit.

The experiment is meant to test whether the public will tolerate clear-cutting older trees under the guise of improving forest health, the plaintiffs claim.

“BLM pays a lot of lip service to ecological restoration. None of the allegations hold water,” said Jennifer Schwartz, attorney for the environmentalists, during oral arguments in Portland on Jan. 22.

The agency’s stated goal of increasing the age diversity of forest stands isn’t reasonable in light of the young trees on private lands that surround the project, she said.

Trees within project boundaries regenerated naturally around the turn of the 20th century after wildfires swept through the previously unlogged area, Schwartz said.

By failing to explain why it’s necessary to log these older trees rather than thin younger stands, the BLM has violated its requirement to take a “hard look” at impacts and explore a “range of alternatives” under the National Environmental Policy Act, she said. “The BLM did not meet that burden here.”

Brian Collins, attorney for the government, countered that the project was designed with the help of highly respected forestry professors — Norm Johnson of Oregon State University and Jerry Franklin of the University of Oregon — who have throughly studied how such logging will affect the forest.

“It is not experimental,” Collins said.

Harvesting trees will return parts of the project area to “early seral” habitat that must be distinguished from the young stands of trees on private lands managed for maximum timber production, he said.

The logging project is meant to improve the forest’s resiliency and support biodiversity rather than trying to recapture “historic conditions” that may or may not have existed in the area, Collins said.

The plaintiffs are conflating stand age with ecosystem complexity, he said.

Plans for the White Castle project call for harvested areas to remain open to sunlight for a longer period of time, permitting the growth of shrubs and “understory” plants that benefit species preyed upon by threatened spotted owls, he said.

This approach is much different than clear-cutting on private lands, where managers encourage quick reforestation and a “closed canopy” of trees that suppresses plant diversity, Collins said.

“You’re using herbicides to keep that understory growth out,” he said.

Oregon’s wine industry packs a surprising economic punch

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Fri, 01/23/2015 - 13:30

The first comprehensive look at Oregon’s wine industry in four years estimates it has grown to have an economic impact of $3.35 billion, counting direct and related sales, jobs, services and products.

The report by Full Glass Research describes an industry on a post-recession roll, with planted acres increasing by 18 percent since 2011, the number of wineries up 45 percent and a 39 percent increase in sales.

Oregon grape growers and wine makers have successfully focused on making higher-priced, higher-quality wine, especially the signature Pinot noir, “turning the state’s low yields and tricky climate into an asset,” according to the report.

“Oregon growers continue to achieve the highest average price per ton while Oregon wineries realize the highest average revenues per case,” according to the report.

Wine grapes aren’t even in Oregon’s top 10 most valuable crops. The National Agricultural Statistics Service list grapes 11th in 2013 at $107 million; Full Glass Research lists the crop value at $128 million. But the report details an industry that “punches above its weight,” as a publicist put it, and has economic ripples ranging from the production of oak barrels and steel tanks to money spent by tourists in tasting rooms.

Among the points of interest in the report:

• There are 17,000 “wine-related” jobs in Oregon and the industry produced 2.7 million nine-liter cases in 2013.

• Despite dramatic growth, small to medium size producers prevail in Oregon. The state’s three largest producers would rank 52nd, 53rd and 76th in California.

• Oregon consumes 36 percent of its own wine production and exports the rest. Among international export markets, Canada takes more than one-third. Japan is second, with Mexico, Hong Kong and Scandinavian countries emerging as the fastest growing markets.

• A Wine Opinions national consumer panel showed regular purchasing of Oregon wines among high end consumers increased from 22 percent in 2008 to 41 percent in 2013. The “romance and appeal” of wineries and “upscale demographics” of wine consumption assures that wine tourists spend more than other visitors.

• In 2013, Oregon wineries spent $11.5 million on corks and other bottle closures, $21.9 million on glass, at least $8.4 million on steel tanks and $5 million to $7 million on barrels. They also spent about $10.4 million for 37 million labels.

• Annual vineyard costs for cultivation, pruning, weed control and trellising range from $3,500 to $8,000 per acre.

• The average per acre cost of developing a vineyard is $20,625. That includes soil prep, layout, planting, trellising, vines, rootstock, irrigation and other costs, but not the purchase price.

• Change may be coming. From 2012-14, four of the top 20 largest wine companies in the U.S., including Kendall Jackson, and three companies from the famous Burgundy region of France, purchased or expanding holdings in Oregon.

Farmed Smart certification offers regulatory ‘safe harbor,’ leader says

Capital Press Agriculture News Oregon - Fri, 01/23/2015 - 08:36

Farmed Smart certification offers regulatory ‘safe harbor,’ leader says

By Matthew Weaver

Capital Press

KENNEWICK, Wash. — The Pacific Northwest Direct Seed Association is looking for farmers to sign up for a new certification program that will provide farmers a “safe harbor” from some regulatory agencies.

Association executive director Kay Meyer described the program, called Farmed Smart, during the Pacific Northwest Oilseed and Direct Seed Conference in Kennewick, Wash.

Third-party auditors would certify farms that employ conservation practices and transition to direct seeding, Meyer said.

“We’ve got our regulatory agencies on board, saying if farmers are getting certified, they are achieving water quality standards because of these practices that they are implementing,” Meyer said.

The association is creating a memorandum of understanding with the Washington Department of Ecology defining management practices.

The program has credibility, said Chad Atkins, water quality specialist for the department in Eastern Washington.

“We’re used to looking for problems and then holding the hammer over people in order to get those fixed,” Atkins said. “This provides an opportunity to come at it from a different direction — rewarding producers for environmental protection.”

Campbell’s, Wal-Mart and Pepperidge Farms already see the program as a way to meet their sustainability initiatives, Meyer said.

The association hopes to certify 200 farms, or roughly 400,000 acres, in the Pacific Northwest. The first 10 farmers would pay no certification fee, and the next 30 would pay a reduced fee.

Genesee, Idaho, farmer Russ Zenner said he already has Food Alliance certification as a producer for Shepherd’s Grain, and said Farmed Smart is similar. Food Alliance certification concentrates on sustainable farming practices.

Mark Sheffels, a Wilbur, Wash., farmer, said some aspects of the program, such as buffers along streams, potentially represent a significant economic sacrifice for farmers because of maintenance costs and weed problems.

“Our part of the world is typically the most productive dirt (anywhere),” Zenner agreed. “There’s going to have to be significant incentive to take that out of production.”

Sheffels said the criteria is tough, but doable. It’s also timely, as farmers realize there will be greater expectations for agriculture in the future, he said.

“Everybody expects more regulatory scrutiny in the future and being part of this program says you recognize that and you’ve already addressed it,” he said.

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