BAKER CITY, Ore. (AP) — Reaching the shore of Phillips Reservoir requires a long and dusty downhill walk these days.

Almost as long as it’s ever been, in fact.

But nothing like as long as it will take to refill this largest reservoir that’s wholly within Baker County, said Jeff Colton, manager of the Baker Valley Irrigation District.

After four years of drought, it probably will take two winters with deeper than average mountain snowpacks to replenish Phillips, which collects the waters of the Powder River and several minor tributaries.

Water from the reservoir irrigates more than 30,000 acres of crops, mainly in Baker Valley.

“I’m hoping we’ll start pulling out of this cycle,” Colton said. “I’m ready for it.”

That cycle has depleted the reservoir, which is about 17 miles southwest of Baker City, to its lowest level since 2001, and to its third-lowest volume since Mason Dam was built in the late 1960s.

As of Wednesday morning the reservoir was holding about 2,780 acre-feet of water.

That’s about 4 percent of its capacity of 73,500 acre-feet.

The reservoir has been lower in the last week of September just twice — in 2001, when the volume was 2,665 acre-feet on this date, and in 1988, when it was 1,318 acre-feet.

Mark Ward, who with his brother, Craig, raises potatoes, wheat, alfalfa and peppermint on their family’s farm in Baker Valley, said the current drought is the worst he’s seen since he graduated from college in 1979.

“Maybe a single year was worse, but this is prolonged,” Ward said.

With the reservoir failing to reach even half full this spring, the irrigation district was able to dole out much less water than is available during a year when Phillips refills — 1.25 acre-feet of water per acre, as compared with 3.5 acre-feet.

Ward said the water shortage forced his family to leave about 15 percent of its acreage fallow.

Nor was the scarcity of water from Phillips Reservoir the only challenge this year.

Rainfall, too, was scanty during the growing season.

Rain totals have been below average every month this year except July.

Even if precipitation during October, November and December is average, 2016 will be the second-driest year on record at the airport, where statistics date to 1943.

Only 2002, when precipitation totaled 5.63 inches, would be drier.

The annual average at the airport is 10.15 inches.

Barring an abnormally soggy autumn, 2016 will be the fourth year in the past five that’s drier than usual.

And although the amount of water in Phillips Reservoir is influenced more by the snowpack in the Elkhorn Mountains than by rainfall in Baker Valley, there is a correlation.

As grand marshals of the historic 70th Bandon Cranberry Festival, we express our sincere thanks, as follows:

A question at the museum program Sunday about the location of the old hospital reminded me that I had a few pictures of it ... long after it had been taken out of service. I believe Leep Memorial Hospital, which…

In a move that highlights the growing influence of organic agriculture in the state, the Oregon non-profit that issues USDA certification will help fund an organic Extension program at Oregon State University.

In academic circles, at least, the decision is significant. Oregon Tilth will provide $100,000 over four years to a new organic program within OSU’s Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems. The contribution matches OSU’s support for the program. A Dutch company, Vitalis Organic Seeds, also plans to provide financial support. Details of the company’s involvement were not immediately available.

Oregon State professors say multiple campus researchers are involved in organic crop trials or other projects, but the work is largely the result of individual professors pursuing their own interests. Conferring program status on organic work will bring all that research under the same umbrella, said Garry Stephenson, director of OSU’s small farms center.

“It also a recognition that some kinds of research need to be more specialized,” Stephenson said. “We have a lot of disciplines that are production-system neutral, but when it comes to other areas we need people who are more specialized in what are called biological approaches.”

Oregon Tilth Executive Director Chris Schreiner said the non-profit’s investment in the OSU program is a statement about the rising impact of organic agriculture.

“I think it absolutely is,” Schreiner said. “We wanted to send a message to the OSU administration that the organic sector wants and values an organic Extension program.”

The investment means Oregon Tilth “puts some skin in the game,” he said, and it may encourage involvement by for-profit businesses such as Vitalis.

The investment is recognition by organic producers that “land-grant universities, and Extension programs and Extension agents are really seen as a credible, valued source of expertise,” Schreiner said.

With demand for organic products outstripping supply, Oregon Tilth and other organizations are focused on helping more farmers transition to organic production and recognize the importance of a partnership with a land-grant university, he said.

Oregon Tilth, which has been around since 1979 and like OSU is based on Corvallis, has been informally involved and has provided funding to the university since 2009. The group certifies organic producers for the USDA.

The money primarily will support the salary of Nick Andrews, a small farms Extension agent based out of OSU’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center.

Andrews said an advisory committee will guide the program’s development. He envisions four or five more faculty members eventually working on organic annual and perennial crop production, organic livestock, organic food systems and other specialties.

The joint venture comes as a new survey by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) showed farmers and ranchers sold $6.2 billion in organic products in 2015, a 13 percent increase over 2014.

California’s organic producers had sales of $2.4 billion in 2015, nearly 40 percent of the national total. Washington and Oregon were second and fourth in organic production, with sales of $626 million and $269 million, respectively. Pennsylvania was third.

Oregon State joins other land-grant universities that are putting increased emphasis on organic agriculture. North Carolina State has a Center for Environmental Farming Systems; the University of Minnesota established an Institute for Sustainable Agriculture; and U.C. Davis uses an Organic Farming Research Workgroup to coordinate its research and Extension work, according to the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Private universities also embrace organic agriculture. The Evergreen State College, an offbeat institution in Olympia, Wash., has had an organic farm since 1972 and produces food for the campus cafeteria. Evergreen students can enroll in a Practice of Organic Farming program.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Pacific Northwest hop growers are wrapping up nearly two months of harvest of a good crop with minimal mildew and pre-harvest stocks at just 2 percent ahead of last year.

That shows supply is closer to equilibrium with demand after years of lagging behind, says Pete Mahony, director of supply chain management and purchasing for John I. Haas, Yakima, a leader in hop production, processing, research and development.

Growers, dealers and brewers held 85 million pounds of hops on Sept. 1 from prior seasons, 2 percent more than 83 million pounds a year earlier, the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Sept. 22.

The amount held by brewers, 36 million pounds, was down 3 percent from last year while the 49 million pounds held by dealers and growers was up 7 percent, NASS said.

In March, hop stocks were up 10 percent from a year earlier. At that time, Mahony said production was doing better toward meeting demand but desired breathing room in supply was still lacking.

Now Mahony says he’s encouraged that inventory is only 2 percent ahead of last year, at this time, and that he thought it would be more.

U.S. growers produced 71 million pounds in 2014 and 79 million pounds in 2015, an increase of 11 million pounds.

“So to see inventory up only 2 percent tells me we’re still close to being in balance, but I do feel we are getting breathing room in several varieties,” he said.

At one point it looked like this year’s crop would be 97 million or 98 million pounds but now it looks closer to the forecast of 92 million, up 13 million or 17 percent from 2015, Mahony said.

“That’s still a sizable increase so going forward we will have some breathing room in some aroma varieties,” he said.

Growth in the craft brewing industry has created demand for aroma hops in recent years.

Some aroma varieties still will be behind demand and growers will adjust accordingly, said Jaki Brophy, spokeswoman for the Washington Hop Commission and Hop Growers of America in Moxee.

Northwest harvest began in August and will finish the first week of October, she said.

Some new plantings are outperforming established yards in rare cases and late rain caused mildew on some alpha variety cones in the Yakima Valley, Brophy said.

“There was some cone damage, but the lupulin (inner part of the cone containing the oil) was fine so it didn’t affect quality a lot,” she said.

The mildew damage occurred with some CTZ-group alpha varieties in the Yakima Valley, Mahony said.

“It’s been a really good harvest from the weather standpoint,” he said. “No real extremes. Few hot days, cool nights and little rain. Good weather allows hop cones to finish off and size up.”

More than 70 percent of U.S. hop acreage is in Washington’s Yakima Valley. Oregon and Idaho account for most of the rest of production with minor amounts from Michigan and other states.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Prosecutors have rested their case against Ammon Bundy and six co-defendants who occupied a national wildlife refuge in southeast Oregon.

The prosecution closed by showing jurors a display of firearms seized at the refuge following the 41-day standoff.

Defense lawyers are expected to begin their case Wednesday by recalling several law enforcement officers who testified for the government. Bundy plans to take the witness stand at some point during the trial, but the date remains unknown.

The Emmett, Idaho, resident and his co-defendants are charged with conspiring to prevent Interior Department employees from doing their jobs at the refuge. Five of the seven are also accused of possessing firearms in a federal facility.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — Supporters of a prohibition against genetically engineered crops in Oregon’s Josephine County won’t have to pay the attorney fees of farmers who defeated the ordinance.

Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Pat Wolke has held that such an award isn’t warranted in this case.

Voters approved Josephine County’s ban in 2014, but earlier this year, Wolke struck it down at the urging of Robert and Shelley Ann White, who wanted to grow biotech sugar beets.

The couple then sought to recover $29,200 from an organic company, Siskiyou Seeds, and a non-profit, Oregonians for Safe Farms and Families, that had intervened to defend the ordinance.

The intervenors had relied on several arguments that lacked an “objectively reasonable basis” and thus should compensate the Whites for dragging out the legal proceedings, said John DiLorenzo, the plaintiffs’ attorney.

“All we want is compensation for time that we had to waste,” he said during oral arguments in August.

For example, the intervenor’s attorneys claimed that a state law pre-empting local governments from regulating genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, was unconstitutional, DiLorenzo said.

However, they cited no legal precedent from Oregon to support this theory, and instead pointed to case law from Ohio, he said.

Attorneys for the intervenors said the issue of local GMO bans is a novel legal issue in Oregon and they should not be punished for presenting good faith defenses of the ordinance.

Wolke ultimately sided with the intervenors, noting that attorneys routinely counter lawsuits with multiple defense theories that may not end up proving plausible.

Because at least one defense presented by the intervenors was objectively reasonable, the plaintiffs aren’t entitled to attorney fees, he said.

Mary Middleton, executive director of OSFF, said the plaintiffs were attempting to chill other groups from vigorously defending local GMO bans in the future.

“I’m happy the judge saw it for what it was,” said Middleton.

The additional attorney fees would have been a great hardship for Siskiyou Seeds and OSFF, she said.

“We operate on a small budget and a $29,000 bill on top of other expenses would have been very difficult for us,” Middleton said.

DiLorenzo, the farmers’ attorney, said the judge took a practical approach and seemed to be damning the intervenors’ legal arguments with faint praise.

“The judge noted the case law in the area is not clear,” he said.

DiLorenzo said he wasn’t sure if the plaintiffs would appeal this decision.

In principle, lawyers should be required to present reasonable defenses — but, on the other hand, the attorney fee issue is tangential to the overall dispute, he said.

OSFF and Siskiyou Seeds have challenged Wolke’s ruling that struck down the ordinance before the Oregon Court of Appeals, with the parties soon expected to begin submitting legal briefs in the appellate case.

It’s homecoming week for Bandon High School. That means a variety of activities leading up to the football game Friday night against Toledo.

Coos County citizens can rightly be proud of the innovative ways we’ve dealt with life on the far west coast of America.

A new report estimates 64 percent of Oregon’s farmland, nearly 10.5 million acres, could change hands in the next 20 years.

Farmers 55 and older, the ubiquitous Baby Boomers, control that much of Oregon ag land, according to the report. As they leave the profession over the next two decades, they are likely to sell or transfer land to family members, neighbors or other current farmers and ranchers, or to business entities that are “primarily focused on investment, finance, property management, and development.”

“How that land changes hands, who acquires it, and what they do with the land will impact Oregon for generations,” the report concludes.

The report, “The Future of Oregon’s Agricultural Land,” said the average age of Oregon farmers and ranchers is now 60, up from 55 in 2002.

The report was produced by Oregon State University’s Center for Small Farms & Community Food Systems in conjunction with Portland State University’s Planning Oregon/Institute for Metropolitan Studies, and with Rogue Farm Corps, a non-profit striving to train the next generation of farmers, particularly those who weren’t born to the farm or ranch.

Nellie McAdams, director of Rogue Farm Corps’ farm preservation program and one of the report’s co-authors, said bigger farms under fewer owners is a likely outcome of the coming ownership turnover. While farm size is not a problem by itself, she said, consolidation could result in fewer operators and less diversity in crop decisions and farming methods. With larger parcels, ownership becomes an even greater cost leap for beginning farmers, she said.

In addition to rising land costs, other hurdles for new farmers include the high cost of getting started, low income during a farm’s “formative years,” a lack of training opportunities for those without a farming background and “systemic barriers” that exclude “the growing pool of women and people of color who are eager to farm.”

The potential impact of older farmers letting go of land isn’t a new topic — the question of “Who are the next farmers?” is closely related — but the researchers took deeper dives than most into farmland transition.

To verify findings, the authors used USDA data, interviewed farmers, Realtors and others, and went through sales and property tax records.

From 2010 through 2015, 25 to 40 percent of farmland sales in Washington, Benton, Clackamas, and Polk counties were to business entities. Ten to 15 percent of farm sales in those counties involved out-of-state buyers.

Meanwhile, land prices are increasing. The average estimated market value of an acre of farmland with buildings in 2012 was $1,882, compared to $1,534 in 2002, according to the Census of Agriculture. “Realtors and land seekers are seeing much higher land prices, especially for irrigated land near urban areas and along transportation corridors,” the researchers concluded.

McAdams, of Rogue Farm Corps, said there’s evidence to suggest farmers themselves aren’t prepared for the turnover. Instead of being incorporated or formed as LLCs, 84 percent of Oregon farms are listed as sole proprietorships, the simplest and cheapest form of business organization. But it means the farm is tied to an individual, which can complicate succession, McAdams said.

The statistic “suggests that the vast majority of Oregon farmers may not have created thorough plans to smoothly transfer their businesses and assets to the next generation,” the report said.

The authors concluded that land-sharing models, farm conservation easements, working lands easements, and other creative leasing arrangements may lead to better outcomes both for retiring farmers and those looking for a foothold in the profession. Other programs could connect beginning farmers with experienced ones, allowing them to explore innovative land access arrangements, the researchers said. Nonprofit farm incubators also offer low-cost access to land, and enable beginning farmers to gain experience, they said.

Brent Hutton won the recent Cranberry Run, part of the city’s Cranberry Festival.

PENDLETON, Ore. — Now that wheat harvest is winding down across northeast Oregon, United Grain Corporation is beginning to focus on how it will upgrade facilities purchased from Pendleton Grain Growers earlier this year.

United Grain has pledged to invest $9 million in the buildings, which include all of PGG’s upcountry elevators, the McNary river terminal and Alicel rail terminal. Regional Manager Jason Middleton said they have not made any decisions yet, but hope to have a plan take shape by November.

Middleton, who was hired from PGG after the co-op voted to dissolve in May, said the goal is to add capacity at elevators where farmers are most likely to store their grain, and increase efficiency at the two terminals to keep trucks moving in and out quickly. Other elevators will likely be shut down for good, though Middleton said the crystal ball is still a little foggy.

“We’ve had a couple meetings about it, but haven’t by any stretch of the imagination come away with a plan of what we’re going to do,” he said.

This year’s winter wheat harvest was a baptism by fire for United Grain, which finalized its deal with PGG on June 10. Fifteen days later, Middleton said, they were already taking wheat from the west end of the county, giving them only enough time for an initial cursory glance at infrastructure needs.

Several elevators were closed right off the bat, including the ones at Mission, Holdman, Elgin and McComas in downtown Pendleton.

“Some of them were safety issues, didn’t meet our standards and hadn’t handled a lot of bushels for a long time,” Middleton said.

Others, such as Rew, Stanton and Brogiotti, were closed by Middleton in 2012 when he took over as director of grain operations for PGG. Since then, Middleton said, the majority of money has been spent at McNary and Alicel, which can hold up to 6.6 million bushels and 1.2 million bushels, respectively.

That has a lot to do with how the grain farming industry has changed, Middleton said. Combines are able to cut wheat far more efficiently than they used to, and farms are sending larger trucks farther distances to get their product out to market.

What used to be smaller farm trucks heading to the closest country elevator are now large semis lining up outside McNary along the Columbia River. Ideally, Middleton said they should be able to weight and unload trucks within 5-10 minutes.

“The terminals are farther along than our upcountry elevators,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking at now.”

This year’s harvest wasn’t without its struggles, Middleton said, as they were forced to hit the ground running. But overall, growers in Umatilla County had much better spring and winter conditions and should be closer to their average yields, he said.

“We got some saving rains, and we didn’t have a brutal winter either,” Middleton said.

Already, the Pendleton area has received some good rains that will help farmers plant into better moisture for next year. According to the National Weather Service, Pendleton has received .68 inches of precipitation during September, more than the usual .45 inches.

Middleton said he is encouraged, but growers need more to continue reversing the damage from previous years of intense drought.

“We have some guys seeding now into better moisture this year,” Middleton said.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — As prosecutors prepare to rest their case in the federal conspiracy trial of Ammon Bundy and his followers, jurors viewed a video Monday of occupiers using assault rifles to fire at a boat launch located on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Assistant U.S Attorney Ethan Knight said the video — pulled from the Facebook account of a Bundy co-defendant who pleaded guilty — refutes defense claims that the armed occupation was a peaceful protest.

“It’s direct evidence of force,” Knight told U.S. District Judge Anna Brown when getting permission to show it to jurors.

Bundy attorney Marcus Mumford argued the mere firing of weapons was not an act of force.

Also Monday, several FBI agents testified about evidence recovered after the 41-day occupation.

FBI Special Agent Christopher Chew said he managed the evidence-collection effort that occurred between Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. Sixty-three people searched 23 buildings, 14 privately owned vehicles and nine outdoor areas on the federal property.

When Chew testified about more than 1,000 spent shell casings found at the boat launch, Mumford questioned if there were any targets found.

“Just birds and wildlife,” the agent said.

Mumford asked if any people got shot at the refuge. Chew said no.

Bundy and six co-defendants are charged with conspiring to impede federal employees from the refuge through intimidation or threats. Five of the seven are also charged with possessing a firearm in a federal facility.

Prosecutors plan to wrap up their case by Tuesday afternoon. The defense is expected to start presenting its side of the story Wednesday and continue through October.

Bundy’s group seized the refuge Jan. 2 after a protest in support of two ranchers who were returning to federal prison on arson convictions. The protest grew into a call for the federal government to relinquish control of Western lands.

ROCHESTER, Mass. (AP) — All is not well in cranberry country this harvesting season, the 200th anniversary of the world's first known commercial cultivation.

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Matt Murray's broken right hand doesn't hurt in general. Just when the Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender tries to get a firm grasp on his stick.

BOWLING

The prosecution is starting to wrap up its case as the trial of seven occupiers of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge enters its third week.

They estimate they will rest their case at the end of the day Tuesday.

The first two weeks have been eventful, as it’s been revealed that an informant tipped off law enforcement on the day several occupation leaders were taken into custody and another was killed. The jury also heard testimony that detailed threats against Harney County Sheriff David Ward in the lead up to the occupation. As the trial enters its third week, here’s what we can expect:

The prosecution has moved swiftly through its case as it has presented evidence that the occupiers conspired to prevent federal employees from doing their work through the use of intimidation, threats or force.

Testimony from Harney County Sheriff David Ward shed light on the lead-up to the occupation. Malheur refuge manager Chad Karges and several other refuge employees testified as to how the occupation prevented them from doing their jobs.

FBI agents have testified about the actions of occupiers during the 41-day takeover, as well as tense negotiations in the final days.

Testimony from Harney County Rancher Andy Dunbar, whose land borders the refuge, offered key testimony about what was heard and seen on the refuge during the occupation.

During the final days of the prosecution’s presentation, the jury will start seeing a lot of the evidence collected by the FBI after the occupation ended in February. The FBI seized dozens of guns from the refuge, and the prosecution is expected to present some of them in court. Though it is unclear just how many of weapons will actually be presented.

During testimony last week from refuge employee Linda Beck, the jury also saw photos of hundreds of spent ammunition casings near the boat launch at Malheur Lake. This week, the prosecution is expected to present the jury with video taken from fellow occupier Jason Blomgren’s Facebook page of several occupiers firing guns near the boat launch. In this video, the occupiers appear to be lined up in an organized manner engaging in a form of target practice. We’re expected to learn more about the evidence the video provides as the prosecution concludes its case this week.

Blomgren was originally scheduled to testify for the prosecution during this trial, but it now seems as though those plans have changed.

The defense is expected to begin making its cases as early as Wednesday morning. This is the part of the trial with the most variables as there are seven different defendants, each with different approaches to their case. Three occupiers are representing themselves, some have court-appointed public defenders, and then in the case of Ammon Bundy, a pair of experienced private defense attorneys.

We do not know what each defense team has planned, but based on opening statements it very much appears the attorneys will try to convince the jury that their clients’ actions were protected under First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Many on the defense have framed the occupation as peaceful political protest of government overreach.

It will be also interesting to see which defendants, if any, take the stand to testify in their own defense. Occupation leader Ammon Bundy testified in pre-trial hearings in July, Ammon Bundy took the stand and acknowledged taking over the refuge. In that testimony, Bundy tried to downplay his role in the takeover. “It was more of a combined effort,” he said when prosecutors described him as the occupation’s leader.

Prosecutors had intended to introduce that testimony as evidence in this trial, but later decided not to. They now say they will only enter it as evidence upon cross examination if Ammon Bundy takes the stand during the trial.

U.S. District Judge Anna Brown issued the first sentence against an occupier of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Friday.

Scott Willingham will not have to serve his sentence of six months in prison because of the 190 days he has already served, but Brown ordered an additional two years of supervised release. Brown also required Willingham to pay fines to the federal government for stealing FBI cameras from the refuge in January.

Willingham was not one of the defendants charged with conspiracy for the 41-day occupation, but participated in the refuge occupation with Ammon Bundy and other leaders in January.

The sentence comes after Willingham pleaded guilty in April to theft of government property as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Willingham agreed not to contact defendants in the ongoing trial of Bundy and six other occupiers as part of his plea deal, but his lawyer emphasized that Willingham was not a government informant and did not testify against the Bundys.

Willingham made headlines when he turned himself in to Grant County police in March. At that time, he threatened to shoot federal law enforcement officers if he was not jailed within a day.

Brown said in court Friday Willingham looked like a new person.

In a court statement, Willingham said he turned himself and pleaded guilty because “I wanted to come forward and be accountable for my actions because I had intentionally and knowingly done things I knew to be wrong. I want to put my actions behind me and move on.”

Willingham described himself to the Oregonian as an unemployed musician from Colorado. His lawyer says he is now “absolutely destitute” and will stay in Portland until he can get back on his feet.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Rail officials are investigating after 13 railcars derailed on a Union Pacific train in Eugene.

The Register-Guard reports that Eugene police and Eugene Springfield Fire personnel were called Sunday when a black tanker car fell to its side in west Eugene on the Union Pacific tracks. Ten empty rail cars were behind the tanker, tilted at awkward angles. Two grain cars also derailed.

Union Pacific spokesman Justin Jacobs says the train was headed around a curve when the cars left the track. The track’s main line wasn’t affected and no hazardous material was released.

Jacobs says Union Pacific will not know what caused the derailment until its investigation is completed.

Despite not being on the main track, the derailment delayed passenger train service.

Barry Cook doesn’t want passersby to get too excited about the new crop he’s got growing at his nursery in Boring, Ore.

The distinctive palm-like, serrated leaves that identify the plants as cannabis are bound to attract some unwanted attention, which is why Cook has posted his fields with signs that identify them as industrial hemp, marijuana’s non-psychoactive relative.

The signs clarify that hemp contains zero THC, the psychoactive compound, and will produce no mind-altering effects if smoked, so stealing the plants is “not worth the headache.”

“If we get robbed, we’ll probably only get robbed once,” Cook said.

The name of Cook’s new venture — Boring Hemp Co. — is a double entendre referring to its physical location and the crop’s lack of psychoactive properties.

While the legalization of marijuana in Oregon has spawned a multitude of new businesses seeking to capitalize on the crop, Cook believes hemp also presents big opportunities with fewer risks.

“I don’t have the same security concerns as medical and recreational growers have,” he said.

For now, the Boring Hemp Co. is focusing on producing hemp seeds, which have been in short supply as the nascent industry finds its legs in the state.

Next year, Cook plans to begin segregating male plants, allowing the females to produce seedless flowers from which one can extract cannabidiol, or CBD, a medicinal compound used to treat pain, seizures and inflammation.

The stems and stalks of the plant will be dried and stored until Oregon’s hemp industry becomes more mature, in the hopes that processing facilities will be built to turn these byproducts into textiles, paper, rope, building materials or other goods.

“The plant has multiple income opportunities,” said Cook.

At this point, Cook is taking a conservative approach by growing hemp on land that’s resting fallow between rotations of nursery stock.

This strategy will allow Boring Hemp Co. to get a sense of how much money can be earned from the crop and whether it’s worth expanding.

“We’re not quitting the nursery industry, but here is an annual crop that has a potential up side not only financially but environmentally,” he said.

Research has shown that hemp’s deep roots are valuable for soil structure and reduce the presence of undesirable nematodes and fungi. They’re also used in “phytoremediation” of land by drawing heavy metals from the soil.

Hemp is already grown on a large scale in Canada for oilseed and fiber, but Cook thinks Oregon growers can establish a niche industry on a smaller scale because the plant’s flowers are the primary product.

“We’re doing it for different reasons,” he said.

Boring Hemp Co. is starting as a family affair, with Cook’s wife, Lee Ann, and three grown sons, Bo, Sam and Ty, involved in different aspects of the operation.

Bo is charged with growing the plants, Sam will be developing a business plan and Ty will work with vendors and customers.

“They all communicate really well with each other,” Cook said.

Venturing into hemp isn’t the first time Cook has reinvented his agricultural enterprise.

In the early 1980s, upon buying his property, Cook raised raspberries, strawberries and blackberries but eventually grew tired of insufficient labor and weather fluctuations that damaged the crops.

In 1996, he switched to growing various types of ornamental nursery stock while operating a hydro-seeding and erosion control company, Northwest Hydro-Mulchers, that continues to be the family’s primary business.

Now, he’s aiming to put his plant knowledge to use while exploring new territory by breeding hemp to maximize CBD while minimizing THC.

“We’re hoping we can become more refined and accurate,” Cook said.

Barry Cook

Occupation: Business owner, nursery producer, hemp grower

Hometown: Boring, Ore.

Age: 58

Education: Attended the University of Montana

Family, Wife, Lee Ann, and three grown sons, Bo, Sam and Ty