PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An ex-Marine who was part of the initial convoy that overtook a national wildlife refuge has pleaded guilty.

In federal court in Portland, Jon Ritzheimer admitted to a judge Monday that he conspired with Ammon Bundy and others to prevent Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel said prosecutors will recommend 2 ½ years in prison when the Arizona man is sentenced in May.

Ritzheimer was one of the higher-profile occupiers, known for an emotional video in which he explains to his daughters why he can’t be home for the holidays. He said it was because “daddy swore an oath” to defend the Constitution.

Before coming to Oregon, he made news by organizing protests outside a Phoenix mosque and threatening to arrest a U.S. senator for supporting the Iran nuclear deal.

ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — A 10-year-old Roseburg boy has honored the man killed during the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge by naming his prize-winning steer after him.

A 1,030-pound black Maine-Anjou named LaVoy Finicum earned third-place at the Douglas County Fair, The News-Review reported. The steer is named after Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, the Arizona rancher killed by law enforcement during the occupation. In March officials declared the shooting justified.

The steer was named by Ryley Schneider, who spent his time at the fair talking to people about Finicum and handing out pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution to police officers.

“LaVoy is a hero who stood up for all of our rights and I believe in him — we all believe in him,” Schneider said. “He stood up for our rights and was just a good man.”

Finicum and more than 20 other people took over the eastern Oregon refuge in January to protest perceived government overreach. The occupiers wanted the federal government to relinquish public lands and free two Oregon ranchers imprisoned for setting fires. Neither demand was met.

Finicum was the only fatality and has since become a sympathetic figure to those who feel the federal government has over-regulated industries.

“When I heard the news (that Finicum died) I didn’t feel happy,” Schneider said. “I felt sad and mad and I didn’t know why it had to happen. He was standing up for everyone’s rights and then he got shot and died. I just didn’t like that.”

Schneider said he hopes to donate some of his prize money to Finicum’s wife.

“She was there and saw her husband get shot,” Schneider said, “So I wanted to give her some money to help.”

Eleven Oregon farms and ranches will receive awards for their historic standing Aug. 27 at the Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Program Awards at the Oregon State Fair.

Six farms from six counties will be honored as Century Farms or ranches, meaning they have been established for at least 100 years.

Five farms from four counties will be honored as Sesquicentennial Farms or ranches, meaning they have been established for at least 150 years.

The Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Program supplied the following information.

The Century Farms are:

• Omeg Family Orchards: August “Gus” Omeg purchased what became Omeg Family Orchards in Wasco County, Ore., in 1905. The farm originally sold cattle, hay, apricots, cherries, peaches and watermelons. The farm later transitioned to large-scale fruit production, specializing in cherries. The main crop today is sweet cherries. Mel Omeg, the founder’s grandson, now owns the orchard. Mel’s son, Michael, manages it.

• Alley Ranch: TW Alley bought 639 acres in Sherman County, Ore., in 1915 after arriving during the early 1900s. Alley’s early crops were wheat, oats, barley, cattle and horses. The farm continued to grow wheat and barley and used conservation practices to keep the land at optimal condition. Dwight Alley, great-grandson of TW Alley, farms the land with several family members.

• Carman Ranch: Jacob Weinhard bought what became Carman Ranch in Wallowa County, Ore., in 1913 when he purchased 2,500 acres. He added 40 acres in 1916. The farm originally sold wheat, barley, oats, alfalfa, cattle and pigs but in the 1970s it transitioned to selling wheat, cattle and hay. The ranch currently raises cattle and pigs and no longer raises wheat. Kent Carman, great-grandson of Jacob Weinhard, runs the ranch with Cory Carman Flynn and Dave Flynn.

• M. Christensen Family Farm: John and Louisa Goffrier purchased 300 acres in August 1900 in Yamhill County, Ore., which became known as the M. Christensen Family Farm. The early crops were grains and grass seed. The farm had horses, dairy cows, pigs and sheep until the 1950s. Lois Mills, granddaughter of the Goffriers, is the current owner with her four children, who each hold small percentages of ownership and are involved in operating the farm.

• Peter Fred Grossen Farm: Peter Fred Grossen founded the Peter Fred Grossen Farm in 1904 when he purchased 72 acres in Washington County, Ore. He cleared the land, planted an apple orchard and established a dairy farm and creamery with Brown Swiss cows. The main crops are now hay, wheat, Brown Swiss Cattle and Swiss cheese. David Grossen, great-great-grandson of Peter Fred Grossen, owns 25 of the original 72 acres, while the remaining members own and operate the balance.

• Alder Glade Farm: John and Mollie Markland founded Alder Glade Farm in 1916 when they purchased 18 acres in Marion County, Ore. The land was a part of the original donation land claim from Thomas L. Coon and it is believed that he and two others are buried on the property. The early crops were sheep, Jersey cattle, chickens and hogs. They also grew hay, grain and corn to feed the livestock. The farm mainly runs a registered flock of Cheviot sheep, Wagyu cattle, hay and other commercial sheep.

The Sesquicentennial Farms are:

• Mosby Century Farm: David Mosby settled his donation land claim of 283 acres in Lane County, Ore., in 1852. The farm has been passed through generations of the family. The early farm grew grain crops, hay and timber and raised hogs that were smoked in the smokehouse and sold in Portland.

Cattle have also been raised on the farm, transitioning from Polled Herefords to Black Angus in the 1990s. Recently, the farm has focused more heavily on cattle, running almost 200 feeders.

• Jesse and Ruby Looney Farm: Jessie and Ruby Looney left Missouri and traveled on the first wagon train to Oregon in 1843 in a move to oppose slavery. They homesteaded land in Marion County, Ore., and secured a provisional land grant in 1846. The farm’s early crops were oats, barley, wheat, produce, beef, dairy cattle and oxen. The homestead was a station for the California Stage Co. route that ran between Portland and San Francisco. The 4-acre farm now raises grass seed, sweet corn, peppermint, broccoli, squash and cauliflower. The farm has been in the Looney family 173 years.

• Maple Hill Farm: Alexander and Christina Esson founded Maple Hill Farm in 1866 in Marion County, Ore. Before them, it was a part of the John and Sarah Carey donation land claim in 1850. The original farm had 320 acres; 290 are still in use today. The farm originally raised wheat, oats, timber, fruit trees, pigs, horses and dairy cattle. Today, grass seed and row crops are the predominant crops grown on the farm.

• Gordon Zimmerman Farm: Alexander Fryer founded the Gordon Zimmerman farm in 1863 in Yamhill County, Ore. The original acreage was more than 500 acres; 83 acres of that is still in use today. Farm ownership was passed down through generations. Oka Fryer married George Zimmerman, and they passed the farm to their son, Gordon Zimmerman.

The original farm had a large prune orchard that was started in the late 1800s. The last orchard was removed in 1950. In the 1950s, Zimmerman and his son-in-law raised grain crops, hairy vetch, field peas and feeder lambs. The current main crop is grass seed. Gordon Dromgoole, the current owner, intends to work with his grandchildren to raise hazelnuts. Gordon Zimmerman still lives on the property in the home that replaced the original house.

• Smith Bros. Farm: John and Sara McCoy came to Oregon in 1845 with their family on a wagon train. The donation land claim was officially recorded in 1853 in Linn County, Ore. Their niece, Irene, married Robert L. Smith and they became owners of the north half, about 305 acres, in 1890. There are still 180 acres in use today. The early crops were wheat, sheep, dairy, hogs, chickens, oats and barley. The current crops are wheat, clover, meadowfoam, fescue and other grasses.

HILLSBORO, Ore. — Three generations of the Grossen family sat around a picnic table on a recent Thursday and talked about their family and their 112-year-old dairy farm.

The Peter Fred Grossen Farm is in Hillsboro, Ore. Peter Fred Grossen founded it in 1904, after he immigrated from Switzerland with his family. More than a century later, his great-great grandson David Grossen and his family will receive a Century Farm Award from the Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Program honoring the farm for its history in Oregon.

The Grossens are one of 11 families being honored for longstanding farms at the Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Program Awards.

Six farms from six counties are being awarded Century status, meaning they have been in continuous operation at least 100 years.

Five farms from four counties are being awarded Sesquicentennial status, meaning they have been in continuous operation at least 150 years.

Andrea Kuenzi, program coordinator, said families must follow a formal application process in which they document the history of the operation of their farm with photos, original deeds, personal stories and other historic records.

David Grossen said researching the history of his family farm was a fun family project.

Grossen’s wife, Jackie, their two children and sister were heavily involved in researching the history of the farm — from when Peter Fred Grossen immigrated to the United States in the 1880s to when their grandfather ran a dairy business to get his family through the Depression to now, with David and his son Hank starting an artisan cheese operation.

The Peter Fred Grossen Farm started as a dairy farm and creamery with Brown Swiss cows. The Grossens also sold wheat, oats, barley, hay and Swiss cheese. The farm’s main crops currently are hay, wheat, Brown Swiss cattle and Swiss cheese.

“The Grossens are very connected to their history and to each other,” Jackie Grossen said.

Other farms being awarded with Century status are: Omeg Family Orchards, Alley Ranch, Carman Ranch, M. Christensen Family Farm and Alder Glade Farm.

Farms being awarded with Sesquicentennial status are: Mosby Century Farm, Jesse & Ruby Looney Farm, Maple Hill Farm, Gordon Zimmerman Farm and Smith Bros. Farm LLC.

The Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program Awards Program will have an awards ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Oregon State Fair. Award winners receive a certificate signed by Gov. Kate Brown and Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Roadside signs are imprinted with the founder’s name and the year the ranch or farm was established.

“It’s so neat to see the families document their history and the history of Oregon agriculture and make it available to the public,” Kuenzi said.

2016 will be the first year all of the information about the historic farms will be available in PDF form for the public to see. Since 1958, Kuenzi said the records were kept as hard copies at Oregon State University. The Oregon Century Farm and Ranch Awards Program received a grant to digitize all of its records.

For the Grossens, researching their history was a way of growing even closer as a family.

“It was so cool to look through all of the old photos,” said Maria Grossen, David Grossen’s daughter. “I really love learning about our history.”

Oregon Century Farm & Ranch Program

The Oregon Century Farm & Century Ranch Program honors farmers and ranchers who have worked the same land for at least 100 years. The program is administered through the Oregon Farm Bureau Foundation for Education and is partially funded through a partnership of the Oregon Farm Bureau, Wilco, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and OSU Libraries’ University Archives. Since its start in 1958, 1,175 farms and ranches across the state have been registered.

An Oregon farmer is seeking to recover more than $50,000 in attorney fees from his opponents in a lawsuit over his straw-compressing facility.

Last month, John Gilmour prevailed in the dispute when the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that straw-compressing operations are allowed outright on land zoned for farming.

Several neighbors and two conservation groups had argued that Gilmour’s straw-compressing facility engaged in crop processing and thus was required to obtain a conditional use permit from the county, which limited his hours of operation.

The appellate court held that such permits aren’t necessary because straw-compressing is a form of crop preparation, not processing, since “straw is unchanged in substance from when it is first baled in the field to when it is packaged for resale.”

Gilmour’s attorney has now filed a petition asking the Oregon Court of Appeals to order his opponents to pay $50,911 because their legal position was “not well-founded in law” and they had “no objectively reasonable basis” for their legal challenge.

He’s also entitled to attorney fees based on Oregon’s “right to farm” law, which prohibits nuisance and trespass lawsuits against common farming practices, the petition said.

“Petitioners brought this appeal in an attempt to harass and delay a working farmer who has neither the time nor resources to defend such a frivolous claim,” the petition said.

The neighbors and conservation groups were motivated by “substantial animus” toward Gilmour’s farming operation and the associated “truck traffic, noise, and straw debris.”

Suzi Maresh, a neighbor who opposed the facility because she believes it causes traffic hazards, said she was taken aback by the request for attorney fees.

The lawsuit concerned the interpretation of state land use laws, not nuisance and trespass claims over common farming practices, she said.

“We were certainly surprised because we were under the impression that would not be the case,” Maresh said.

The $50,911 in attorney fees would impose a steep financial burden, she said. “We can’t afford that kind of money.”

George Francis Horning, 92, passed away on Aug. 9, 2016, at home, the family farm he and his brother Ivan started over 70 years ago.

He was a farmer, a World War II veteran, a devoted husband and beloved father and grandfather.

George Francis Horning was born March 26, 1924, to George Edwin Horning and Nancy Rose Horning in Corvallis, Ore., and grew up on the family farm.

George was the eldest and surviving twin of seven siblings: Ivan (Pat), Julian (Noreen), Viola (Clarence Morrison), Nancy Ann (Harold Howard), Betty (Lehrl Conn) and Sandy (Herb Hull).

He attended Eureka grade school and graduated from Monroe High School in May 1941. He went to work on a turkey ranch in Irish Bend until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when he worked at Camp Adair as a carpenter apprentice.

Enlisting in the U.S. Navy in September 1942, he trained in San Diego on torpedoes and received an award for expert rifle and pistol marksmanship. He was stationed in Papua, New Guinea, and was cut by shrapnel when the USS Mt. Hood exploded in November 1944 near Manus Island while he was on deck of another ship in the blast zone.

When the war ended, he had earned the rank of Specialist Second Class. George retired from the U.S. Navy Reserve in April 1984 with the rank of First Class Petty Officer.

George’s military service was a source of great pride, and in October 2014, he made an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

On a weekend leave in December 1944, he married his high school sweetheart, Eleanor Loretta Bailey, with whom he accumulated over 500 pages of wartime correspondence and 71 years of rich memories.

They raised six children on their farm and dairy.

Even after closing the dairy in 1985, George always kept a few cows. As a boy, George had loved working with the horses that pulled the farm implements, and after the war in 1946, he and Ivan bought 30 acres from their father and started farming.

Over the years they grew sweet corn, table beets, peppermint, wheat, squash, field corn and beans. In the early years of growing pole beans, George bought some retired school buses and had a route to pick up the bean pickers and hoeing crews every morning, employing many young people and creating great memories.

He was generous with his time and had a long record of community service and civic-mindedness, serving on the board of directors of many organizations: Eureka and Irish Bend grade schools, 20 years on the Monroe High School Board, the Agri-Pac Board of Directors, the Benton County Draft Board, as well as 35 years on the Consumers Power Board, 17 of them as chairman.

George enjoyed organizing community events such as pet parades, talent shows and movie nights at the Monroe Methodist Church, where he and Eleanor were lifelong members.

He was also active with the Monroe Cemetery Association and the VFW.

In short, he loved bringing people together and organized many family gatherings and reunions over the years. Even George and Eleanor’s greatest vacation was a 9-day community rafting trip floating the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

George is preceded in death by his wife, Eleanor; children George Clifford (Kathleen) and Loretta Susan; two grandchildren, Lydia Marie Horning and Zachary Cook; and brothers Ivan and Julian.

He wrote that the “greatest reward” of his life is “my family,” and he leaves behind a loving clan who will miss him dearly: his children, Kathy Freeman (Paul Kafoury), Diana Gamache (Bill), Eric (Christine), and David (Dan Ogle); 14 grandchildren, George Earl, Ted, Lance, Susan, Kenneth, Terri, Kimberly, Jennifer, Errin, Nathan, Nicholas, Connor, Reid and Montessa; 27 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great grandchildren.

A funeral service is planned for 2 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 14, at the Monroe High School gymnasium, followed by a graveside service at Monroe Cemetery. There will be a dessert social in the high school commons following the graveside service.

Memorial contributions may be made to South Benton Historical Association of Monroe, the Monroe Cemetery Association, or a charity of choice in care of McHenry Funeral Home, 206 NW Fifth St., Corvallis, OR 97330.

ONTARIO, Ore. — Onion growers in Eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho are dealing with a new plant disease that can damage the inside of onions but they so far don’t know what’s causing it or how to prevent it.

Oregon State University researchers are conducting field trials to try to answer those questions.

“We know what the problem is real well but we don’t know what’s causing it or how to manage it,” said Clint Shock, director of OSU’s Malheur County experiment station.

The disease is caused by a plant pathogen known as fusarium proliferatum and can damage the inside of the onion. An affected onion looks fine on the outside but is not desirable to consumers when it’s cut open.

That particular type of fusarium fungi has caused a few cases of so-called onion bulb rot over the years but it became a major issue in 2014 and 2015, said OSU Cropping Systems Extension Agent Stuart Reitz.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve seen it become a real serious problem,” he said. “We’re trying to figure out, is there some trigger that makes onions susceptible to getting the disease.”

One theory that is being explored in the Malheur County field trial is that high temperatures cause a condition known as dry scale, which is when the top of the onion doesn’t completely close, leaving a small opening where the fungal pathogen can enter.

The 2014 and 2015 summers in this region had unusually high temperatures and the OSU field trial includes heat strips that make the soil around the onion bulb hotter.

“By sampling onions every week, we’re trying to understand when the defects start to show up ... and see if temperature is a factor,” Shock said. “If temperature is a factor, there are various approaches we can take to try to reduce the bulb temperature.”

A separate trial is exploring the effectiveness of different fungicides that have proven beneficial in treating related fusarium pathogens that impact other crops.

Reitz is also collecting samples from various farms around the region “and looking at different varieties and growing conditions, trying to track when we see the problem coming on so growers can use fungicides at the right time instead of having to spray all year long.”

Bob Simerly, an agronomist with McCain Foods, a large processor of onions grown in this region, is skeptical that heat is causing the problem. High temperatures and dry scale have been around for a long time but the disease hasn’t, he said.

He thinks it could be linked with a significant increase in corn acreage in the region. Corn is a host for many different fusarium fungi, including the one that causes onion rot, he said.

“My theory is that the increase in corn acres ... has increased the amount of spores of this (pathogen) in the environment,” he said.

Paul Skeen, president of the Malheur County Onion Growers Association, said there are many different opinions on what’s causing the disease but as of now, “I don’t think anybody really knows.”

For the second year in a row, grower Charlie Ruddell of Bandon, Ore., is claiming the earliest delivery of cranberries in North America.

Ruddell planned to deliver the first of 2016’s harvest on Aug. 11 to the Ocean Spray co-op receiving station on the Oregon Coast. That’s eight days earlier than 2015, which itself was about two weeks earlier than normal.

Ocean Spray spokeswoman Kellyanne Dignan confirmed Ruddell is the co-op’s first delivery and said she is confident he’s the earliest in North America as well.

“Mother Nature’s the boss” on harvest timing, she said.

An unusually warm growing season in 2015 made many crops ready for harvest earlier than normal. Ruddell, of Randolph Cranberries Inc., said other factors are at play this year.

The variety he’s growing, Demoranville, blooms earlier and matures faster than other commercial varieties, Ruddell said.

Secondly, Ocean Spray is paying growers a bonus of $2.50 per 100-pound barrel for cranberries that are lighter color than in years past. Another $2 per barrel bonus is available for cranberries delivered by Sept. 19. If a cranberry bog produces 250 barrels, that amounts to a $1,125 bonus.

“It sets well with me,” Ruddell said.

Dignan, the Ocean Spray spokeswoman, said the co-op’s desired color standard has changed over time. Cranberries traditionally were made into juice or sauce, which requires a darker berry. But now most cranberries are dried and sweetened to make “craisins,” and a lighter-colored, earlier berry is preferable, she said.

Wisconsin and Massachusetts rank first and second in U.S. cranberry production. New Jersey is third, and Oregon and Washington are fourth and fifth, respectively. The U.S. usually produces between 8 million and 9 million barrels annually. The Oregon crop is valued at about $12 million per year.

Dignan said Ocean Spray will release updated 2016 crop projections soon. Ruddell said his 2015 crop was down 5 or 6 percent from 2014, but might bounce back this year. “My intuition is that we will have a pretty strong year,” he said.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Both sides in the debate over removing four dams from the Klamath River are keeping the pressure on as the project moves forward.

The Hoopa Valley Tribe is suing federal agencies to improve flows in the lower Klamath River for endangered coho salmon — a goal that proponents say could be achieved if the dams came out.

Tribal chairman Ryan Jackson said disease rates in juvenile salmon in the past two years have soared well beyond limits established in a 2013 biological opinion from the National Marine Fisheries Service, and that even those limits don’t meet standards set in tribal trusts.

“It’s not so much to do with dam removal per se, although certainly that’s a part of it,” Jackson said of the tribe’s goals behind the lawsuit. “The lawsuit really gets down to the protection of the fishery and the needs for increased flows and enhanced water quality.”

The lawsuit follows the Karuk Tribe’s filing in late June of a 60-day notice of intent to sue the NMFS and Bureau of Reclamation over alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act. The tribe cites a disease infection rate of 90 percent of sampled juvenile salmon in 2015.

The tribes assert that low water levels in the lower Klamath River are too warm for fish and are polluted with nutrients and chemicals. The legal actions lend a sense of urgency as the Karuks and others are engaged in water-sharing negotiations with federal agencies and upper Klamath Basin irrigators.

“We’re trying to figure out how we can add a disease-management flow event,” said Craig Tucker, the Karuk Tribe’s natural resources policy advocate. “We think that dam removal will alleviate the problem, but we need something between now and dam removal. We can’t just allow 90 percent of juvenile salmon in the river to succumb to these diseases.”

Shane Hunt, a Reclamation spokesman in Sacramento, said the bureau doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The filings come as dam-removal plans agreed on earlier this year are moving forward. The newly formed Klamath River Renewal Corporation, a non-government body taking over the dams from owner PacifiCorp, will likely file for removal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before the end of August, said Nancy Vogel, a California Natural Resources Agency spokeswoman.

Top state and federal officials signed an agreement in April to have the nonprofit organization go through FERC to remove the dams after legislation authorizing their removal failed to make it through Congress by the end of 2015. Proponents are still seeking federal legislation that would provide money to operate two diversion dams within the basin that PacifiCorp would turn over to Reclamation so irrigators wouldn’t have to pick up the cost.

Political opposition to dam removal remains vocal in the basin, including from Lawrence Kogan, a former Klamath Irrigation District attorney who’s now working through his own nonprofit advocacy organization to raise questions about the project.

The KID’s newly elected majority hired Kogan earlier this year to scrutinize the dam-removal process but cut ties with him in mid-July when some board members thought the New York-based attorney had overstepped his contract, the Klamath Falls Herald and News reported. Acting district manager Darin Kandra did not return calls from the Capital Press seeking comment.

Kogan has since sent public-records requests to the Bureau of Reclamation and five state agencies seeking the details of behind-the-scenes discussions of the amended dam-removal and water-sharing agreements, including how needed irrigation canal improvements would be funded.

“These are things that are public information,” said Kogan, adding that “half of the basin doesn’t know what’s going on and has been kept in the dark” because of non-disclosure agreements among the agencies.

Ed Sheets, who facilitates a committee implementing the Klamath agreements, said all of the bargained-for benefits in the pacts “were clearly spelled out” for those in the basin that would be affected.

“On a larger scale, there’s been some conversations between the tribes and irrigators to see if some of the things (in the original Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement) can be put back together,” Sheets said. “That’s going to be a complicated process.”

Cattle and calves, followed by greenhouse and nursery plants, again paced Oregon crop values in 2015, the state ag department reported.

Preliminary figures assembled by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service show the state with a crop value of $5.4 billion in 2015, similar to the previous two years, Oregon Department of Agriculture spokesman Bruce Pokarney said in a news release.

The statistics showed sharp drops in some crop values due to market conditions. Hay and milk values dropped by $100 million and $180 million, respectively, compared to 2014, but are still much higher than 10 years ago.

The greenhouse and nursery sector, which by itself was valued at $1 billion in 2007 before the recession hit, continues its gradual recovery. The industry hit a low of $667 million in 2010, but stood at $894 million in 2015. Grass seed, which is also tightly tied to housing and development and sank during the recession, is back to the value it achieved in 2005.

Oregon’s wine grape sector has shown “easily the most astonishing growth” over the past 10 years, according to the department. Production value was at $36 million in 2005, but has grown by 308 percent since then and in 2015 was estimated at $147 million. “No other Oregon agricultural commodity has seen a higher increase,” ODA reported.

Oregon Wine Board spokeswoman Michelle Kaufmann said the number of wineries in Oregon has increased 45 percent since 2011.

Here’s the state’s top 10:

1. Cattle and calves, $914 million

2. Greenhouse and nursery products, $894 million

3. Hay, $604 million

4. Milk, $474 million

5. Grass seed, $383 million

6. Wheat, $217 million

7. Potatoes, $176 million

8. Pears, $152 million

9. Wine grapes, $147 million

10. Onions, $125 million

ONTARIO, Ore. — There could be as much as 160,000 acre-feet of carryover water left in the Owyhee Reservoir when the 2016 irrigation season ends.

That’s less carryover water than would be expected during an average year but, due to extended drought conditions that broke this winter, much more than the reservoir has ended the irrigation season with since 2012.

The reservoir provides water to 118,000 acres of irrigated farmland in Eastern Oregon and part of southwestern Idaho.

“It feels a lot better,” than the last several years, Owyhee Irrigation District Manager Jay Chamberlin said about the 2016 water year. “I think overall it’s going to be a good season.”

In an average water year, the Owyhee system will end the season with about 350,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water that farmers can bank on for the next year. During good water years, that number is as much as 500,000 acre-feet.

The reservoir can hold a maximum of 710,000 acre-feet of storage water for irrigators.

As of Aug. 9, there was 277,000 ace-feet of storage water left in the reservoir and about 3,000 acre-feet has been leaving the system each day.

Chamberlin said that based on current trends, there should be more than 100,000 acre-feet left at the end of the season.

“(That’s) still a long way from normal, but when you’ve come off those really, really tough years that we’ve had, that gives you a lot more hope heading into next year,” he said. “We’re going to be in a lot better shape than we’ve been in.”

OID board member and farmer Bruce Corn estimates there will be between 120,000 and 160,000 acre-feet of carryover water left.

OID patrons get 4 acre-feet of water during a normal water year, like 2016, but only received a third of that amount in 2014 and 2015.

If there is around 150,000 feet of carryover water this year, growers would have a lot more breathing room heading into next year than they have enjoyed the past two years, when the reservoir finished the season with about 5,000 acre-feet of carryover water.

“It gives you a little bit of a cushion” heading into 2017, Corn said. “Exactly how much carryover water we will end up with remains to be seen. But certainly we should be over 100,000 acre-feet.”

Corn and Chamberlin said it’s likely that irrigation water will be shut off about the first of October, a couple weeks earlier than normal, in an effort to ensure as much carryover water as possible.

The OID board will probably decide on a firm shutoff date during its Aug. 23 meeting, Corn said.

Most of the area’s high-water crops are about two weeks ahead of normal, Corn said, which means September irrigation usage should be way down.

“I’d be surprised if we go past that” early October date, Chamberlin said. “Our crops are coming off early (and) I think that will help and nobody hopefully will come up short on water.”

Capital Press

A state economist says five of Oregon’s nine regional economies, paced by Portland, have regained all the jobs lost in the recession and are all-time highs in terms of employment.

Two other regions are nearly at that level, but rural southeast and southwest Oregon “still have a long way to go,” economist Josh Lehner reported in his most recent blog post.

Lehner said the regional economies of the Portland area, Columbia River Gorge, Northeast Oregon, the Willamette Valley and Central Oregon have regained all their recessionary job losses. The North Coast and Rogue Valley areas may reach that point in the next couple months, he said.

In addition to reporting the number of jobs, Lehner said the state Office of Economic Analysis also studies the so-called “jobs gap.”

“This looks at employment relative to the size of population that would likely be working or looking for work if the economy was firing on all cylinders or at full capacity,” he wrote. “The key technical point here is that it adjusts for the aging Baby Boomers as they are entering into retirement in greater numbers these days.”

By that measure, the state in July finally added enough jobs to catch back up with population growth since the onset of the recession, Lehner said. The jobs gap remains largest in rural Oregon, particularly the southern counties, he said.

“Growth has returned, these regional economies are on the mend, but further progress is still needed,” Lehner concluded.

The hazelnut trees in Ron and Daniel Chapin’s older orchards have remained remarkably productive despite the fact they’re dying.

As eastern filbert blight kills many of their trees, the father and son still hope to get as many hazelnuts from them as possible.

At the same time, they want to get a head start replacing the orchards with new varieties that are resistant to the fungal pathogen.

Their solution is to begin growing young hazelnut trees for two years in 15-gallon containers in preparation for transplanting.

That way, the Chapins won’t have to wait as long for the replacement orchards to begin yielding enough nuts to harvest, which usually occurs in the fifth year, Ron Chapin said. “It gets us to production quicker.”

The strategy also makes sense for fields currently producing other crops, he said. “The biggest thing is the extra two years you’ve got to do whatever with the ground.”

Aside from time savings, the containerized hazelnuts provide an agronomic advantage, said Nik Wiman, orchard crops extension specialist for Oregon State University.

Currently, many yearling hazelnut trees are being planted across Oregon even though they probably should have been culled, said Wiman.

Demand is so high for young hazelnut trees that growers are willing to settle for lower-quality specimens, he said.

“We’re limited by plant material, essentially,” Wiman said.

Trees that have spent a couple years in a container have a more developed root structure and should perform better, he said. “That’s what we really need when transplanting the tree.”

Of course, planting larger trees grown with this system does have a downside — handling 45-pound containers is more difficult than yearling “whips” that can be carried around in a sack.

“Logistics is going to be the challenge for us,” said Daniel Chapin.

The bigger, heavier containers take roughly twice as much time to plant and require preparing holes with a tractor-mounted auger. Transport is another issue — it would take a semi-trailer to haul the 300 trees needed to plant about two acres.

Even so, the Chapins are optimistic about their strategy because fewer than 1 percent of the container-grown Jefferson trees they plant end up dying, compared to roughly 3 percent of the variety that die when planted as whips.

Part of the improvement is that deer aren’t as likely to completely destroy the larger trees, said Daniel. “You have a tree that’s much better prepared to defend itself.”

They’re also experimenting with growing trees in 10-gallon containers, which would be easier to handle.

However, the Chapins are hesitant about the prospect of using smaller pots, since tree roots would be more prone to “swirling” in on themselves, resulting in a weaker root structure in the field.

“We need to make sure it’s a big enough pot to fully accommodate the roots,” Daniel said.

The Chapins have planted about 40 acres with containerized hazelnuts, and plan to replace 250 acres of orchards with this method over the next five years.

“I figure by that time, I’ll understand it well enough that I won’t mind selling it to other people,” said Ron.

Given the time, labor and inputs involved, each containerized tree would have to sell for $25-30, compared to $5.50 for a whip, he said. “It’s a more intensive culture for it.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon standoff defendant Ryan Bundy was involved in an altercation with deputies Tuesday when he refused to be handcuffed for transport, authorities said.

U.S. marshals were scheduled to transport Bundy about 6 a.m. Tuesday, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

Multnomah County jail spokesman Capt. Steve Alexander said he didn’t know where Bundy was going, but he said Bundy didn’t want to leave the cell and argued with a sergeant who was trying to handcuff him. Alexander said that when Bundy “spun around” the sergeant took him to the ground.

His supporters said on social media that Bundy sustained bruises.

Alexander said Bundy was examined by medical staff, and no redness or anything like that was noted. “He was fine,” Alexander said.

Bundy was taken to the originally scheduled destination later in the day and then moved to disciplinary housing in the jail. He will be written up for administrative violations including allegedly failing to follow orders, behaving in a threatening or assaultive manner and fighting with staff, Alexander said.

A hearing will be held in several days. If the hearings officer finds that Bundy stepped out of line, his jail privileges will be affected.

In April, Bundy may have planned an escape from the jail. Staff found a 12- to 15-foot section of a bed sheet that was braided into a rope in Bundy’s cell, along with a container of extra food he wasn’t supposed to have, officials said. Bundy has denied he was attempting an escape.

Ryan Bundy is the older brother of Ammon Bundy, the leader of the 41-day occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.

The Bundys and six other co-defendants are scheduled for trial Sept. 7 for their alleged involvement in the armed takeover early this year. Prosecutors say the group broke into safes, tampered with federal records and left behind a mess, including ammunition, explosives, trash and human waste.

Ryan Bundy is representing himself in the case.

A new invasive species, known as the “crazy snake worm” or “Asian jumping worm,” has been unearthed for the first time in Oregon.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the worm, Amynthas agresitis, was found in Clackamas and Josephine counties in 2016.

The significant distance between the two discoveries likely indicates the species is probably found elsewhere in Oregon as well, said Clint Burfitt, manager of ODA’s insect pest prevention and management program.

Residential landowners turned the worms over to officials from ODA and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife after noticing its vigorous flipping.

“The behavior is very distinctive,” Burfitt said. “Earthworms aren’t known for their energetic behavior, but this one is.”

The worm’s detrimental effects on forest health have also been causing growing concern in the Great Lakes region and the East Coast, said Jim Labonte, an ODA entomologist.

“There’s beginning to be a lot of attention to be paid to this there,” he said.

Several pathways may be responsible for the worm’s movement, including earthmoving equipment, compost and fishermen, he said. The species reproduces asexually, so not many individuals are necessary for an established population.

By rapidly consuming the detritus along the forest floor, the worms remove the protective layer that plant seeds need to sprout and outcompete other animals that depend on this habitat.

“That affects the forest’s ability to regenerate,” said Burfitt.

Bare soil isn’t as effective as retaining water, allowing it to run off more quickly — potentially having an impact on agriculture, said LaBonte.

The change in soil structure also disrupts nutrient cycling, harming the forest’s health over time, he said.

At this point, though, it’s unknown whether these impacts will be experienced in Oregon as they have elsewhere in the U.S., since the forest type and climate here are different, LaBonte said.

“When you’re making projections, it’s easy to go to, ‘The sky is falling,’” he said. “Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”

A wildlife biologist said bears might cause problems in the John Day area of Eastern Oregon this fall as they search for food sources to replace the berries and grass burned in the Canyon Creek Fire last year.

Ryan Torland, ODFW district biologist for Grant County, said residents should clean up fallen fruit around trees, avoid leaving pet food outside and keep garbage cans inside a garage or shed if possible. Torland said there have already been a couple incidents with bears poking around homes on the outskirts of John Day.

Bears spend the fall eating heavily to build up fat for winter hibernation, Torland said in an ODFW news release. But the Canyon Creek Fire south of John Day last summer scorched a major food supply, and could send bears searching elsewhere, he said. Bears that raid garbage cans or fruit trees in residential areas could get habituated to them as a food source and cause trouble for homeowners, he said.

The Canyon Creek Fire was started by lightning on Aug. 12, 2015, and burned 110,261 acres. It wasn’t declared contained and controlled until Nov. 5, according to a multi-agency incident command website.

An ODFW website has tips on coping with bears.

Organizers say a two-day “drone rodeo” in Pendleton, Ore., this month will demonstrate the future of digital agriculture.

The event will be held Aug. 18-19 at the Pendleton Airport. The site is one of the national unmanned aerial system (UAS) test ranges and has become a focus of Pendleton’s economic development efforts. Part of the facility is now called the Oregon UAS Future Farm, and is intended be a proving grounds for equipment developed by digital agriculture pioneers.

Steve Chrisman, Pendleton’s economic development director and airport director, said drone and high-tech ag companies are attracted by Pendleton’s wide open spaces and the wide variety of crops grown in the region. While digital ag doesn’t have the economic impact of a 250-employee manufacturing plant, it does have a ripple effect, Chrisman said.

The presence of flight test teams can lead to companies renting office space or workshop space, he said. A Virginia company, Digital Harvest, has opened a branch office in Pendleton. “A certain percentage will take up some level of permanent residence,” Chrisman said.

Industry advocates believe agriculture is on its way to being one of first commercial adopters of drone technology. Equipped with cameras or other sensors, drones could spot irrigation or pest problems, estimate yield, do inventory or other chores. In time, drones could communicate directly with other unmanned farm implements, and send them to take care of problems spotted from the air.

The event is aimed at farmers, and will include flight and data-downloading demonstrations of various types of unmanned vehicles.

“It’s an opportunity for growers and drone guys to be in the field together,” said Jeff Lorton, the event’s promoter and organizer.

The event includes a competition, of sorts. Operators will program their aircraft to launch from the airport, fly to a nearby irrigation pivot and record data with their cameras or other sensors before returning.

“It’s a bit of a shootout,” Lorton said.

Admission to the event is free but registration is required.

Online

Register at http://www.pendletondrone.rodeo

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government is already facing two lawsuits over its plan to manage about 2.5 million acres in Western Oregon that would increase the potential timber harvest by an estimated 37 percent.

The Statesman Journal reports the American Forest Resource Council and Earth Justice have filed suits against the Bureau of Land Management since the plan was enacted Friday.

The BLM estimates 278 million board feet per year could be harvested once the plan is fully implemented. It also predicts it’ll increase job growth, tourism and recreation.

The council claims the logging levels laid out in the plan are still too low, while environmentalists cite concerns over threatened species, such as the Northern Spotted Owl.

Levy said the BLM doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

PORTLAND — Hermiston officials showed Portlanders that life is sweet in Eastern Oregon on Aug. 5 with a giveaway of more than 6,000 pounds of watermelons.

Mayor David Drotzmann, City Manager Byron Smith, members of the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce and a delegation of city councilors and staff arrived at Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland and handed out free melons to eager Portland residents as part of an annual tradition to promote Hermiston agriculture.

The tradition was started in the 1980s by then-mayor Frank Harkenrider, who took a pickup truck full of Hermiston watermelons to Portland and challenged then-mayor Bud Clark to a seed-spitting contest. The tradition petered out in 2007 but was revived in 2015.

Produce was donated by local growers. Last year Hermiston also gave away potatoes, but assistant city manager Mark Morgan said that the other options weren’t nearly as popular as the watermelon so this year they just stuck with the city’s famous fruit.

Hermiston won the seed-spitting contest last year and again this year, with city councilor Doug Primmer’s winning effort of 29 feet.

The event is designed to foster better relations between Hermiston and Portland, according to a news release from the city.

“We’re really happy we can continue this great event, and continue to build on our relationship with our partners in Portland,” Drotzmann said.

ASTORIA, Ore. — For farmers such as daughter Laurel and mother Anne Berblinger, much of the challenge is in getting Oregon’s specialty crops into the hands of consumers. They grow about 300 varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs at Gales Meadow Farm in Gales Creek near Tillamook.

“Once they try it, they like it,” Anne Berblinger said, adding her farm is starting an on-site tasting event to initiate potential customers.

The Berblingers and other local farmers got some help Aug. 4, when Oregon State University and the state Department of Agriculture held a “crop-up” farmers market and dinner at the university’s Seafood Lab in Astoria, part of an effort to promote Oregon’s bounty.

The “USDA is trying to get more of these specialty crops out into the public,” said Julia Turner, an international trade manager with the Department of Agriculture.

Turner said Oregon ranks fifth in specialty crop production, including vegetables, fruits, tree nuts and nursery crops. Along with Oregon State, her department received a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which they used to fund the crop-up dinners and markets for the next two summers, along with a showcase of Oregon’s specialty crops to foreign food writers at Feast, a culinary event in Portland.

Diners at the event feasted on an eight-course dinner overseen by Jason Ball, a research chef with the university, and Executive Chef Jeff Graham from Fort George Brewery.

“The idea was that we work with farms as local as possible, and we do all the cooking,” Ball said, adding the two first figured out what they were getting, then designed the menu.

The dinner included produce from several of the farms at the pop-up market earlier, along with local seafood. Dishes ranged from confit beet salad and raw sablefish crudo to smoked salmon served with local potatoes and sour cream and barbecue carrots. Ball said part of the purpose was to vary preparation, incorporating baked, smoked, grilled, pickled and confit dishes. For dessert was a mixed berry custard cup with hazelnuts — Oregon leads the production of these nuts — along with marionberries, boysenberries and black raspberries.

Ginger Edwards, who founded R-evolution Gardens eight years ago in the Nehalem Valley at the southern tip of Clatsop County, said the key to marketing specialty crops is in showing people how to use them.

“It’s just a few skills that are missing” from previous generations, she said. “We’ve been really invested in getting people back into the kitchen and cooking again.”

Edwards gets most of her business from farmers markets and community-supported agriculture, a farmer’s choice delivery of vegetables to enrolled members weekly. She also works with the Rinehart Clinic in Wheeler, providing low-income patients with cooking skills and local produce. Along with running her farm, Edwards is the executive director of North Fork 53, a farm-to-table bed and breakfast teaching people how to cook, can and otherwise preserve their produce to last through the winter.

More than 300 specialty crop producers this year have reached Oregon’s students through the state Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School program.

Chief among those was Bornstein Seafoods, a processor based in Bellingham, Washington, with a plant in Astoria. The company on Thursday won the Oregon State Schools Producer of the Year Award.

Christa Svensson, an export and marketing manager at Bornstein, said that when the company’s efforts to get seafood into schools started, the average amount spent per student was $1 per lunch, about one-fifth of it going to milk, and with no state support. In 2011, the state passed House Bill 2800, providing state money for schools to buy food from Oregon producers.

This past school year, Bornstein Seafoods provided seafood to six school districts, including Seaside. Svensson said the company hopes to expand the program to six more school districts in the coming year.

Turner said the crop-up market and dinner will return next year, hopefully in conjunction with the River People Farmers Market, which offers local produce from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays at 12th and Exchange streets.