Oregon Cranberry Growers Association
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Bandon Feeds the Hungry set for Oct. 1
Bandon Feeds the Hungry set for Oct. 1
Report: 2015 a record year for Oregon wine grapes
Oregon’s 2015 wine grape harvest set a tonnage record as newer vineyards matured into production and yields increased, according to the annual Oregon Vineyard and Winery Census Report.
The census, produced by the Southern Oregon University Research Center in Ashland, showed a record harvest of 84,949 tons. More planted acreage and higher than average yields were primarily responsible, especially in the South Willamette Valley and Umpqua Valley, according to the report. Yield increased 8 percent statewide in 2015 over the previous year.
The state’s 2015 production value, a product of tonnage multiplied by price, was $171 million, up from $168 million in 2014. The average price per ton, which varies significantly among the more than 15 varieties grown in Oregon, was $1,958. The 2014 average price per ton was $2,136.
One thing about Oregon’s wine sector didn’t deviate: Pinot noir is still the state’s signature wine, and that isn’t likely to change any time soon.
The state makes renowned Pinot and it commands a high price. Pinot noir made up 62 percent of planted acreage and 67 percent of vineyard production in 2015.
It’s made throughout the state but the North Willamette Valley south and southwest of Portland, particularly in Yamhill County, produces most of the state’s Pinot noir. Chardonnay and Pinot gris plantings are a distant second and third.
Oregon’s wine production is tiny compared to California, which produces 90 percent of U.S. wine. Oregon ranks fourth, behind California, Washington and New York, but the number of vineyards and wineries grew rapidly over the years as the industry spread outside the Willamette Valley. The Columbia River Gorge and Southern Oregon areas have come into their own as wine-producing regions.
The industry census, however, shows the rapid growth slowed somewhat in 2015. The number of Oregon vineyards increased 2 percent, to 1,052. The number of wineries increased to 702, up from 676 in 2014.
Michelle Kaufmann, communications manager for the Oregon Wine Board, which commissioned the annual census, said the slowing is more likely a pause before another surge of vineyard growth, especially in Eastern Oregon.
“I don’t think we reached a peak in terms of planted acreage,” she said.
The number of 12-bottle cases sold in the U.S., excluding Oregon, rose to 1.6 million in 2015, about 100,000 cases more than the previous year. International case sales jumped from 62,241 in 2014 to 70,608 in 2015. Canada is the biggest buyer, with 44 percent of Oregon wine exports going there.
Beekeepers, growers get financially stung by hive thefts
Beekeepers, growers get financially stung by hive thefts
Grand marshals Pete and Joan Goodbrod are part of Bandon's history
Beekeepers, growers get financially stung by hive thefts
Q&A: What to know as Oregon ranching standoff trial begins
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Trials are scheduled to begin this week for the armed ranchers who took over a national bird sanctuary in rural Oregon to oppose federal management of public lands.
Jury selection starts Wednesday in the case against Ammon Bundy, Ryan Bundy and others who helped seize Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2. They are charged with conspiring to prevent federal employees from doing their jobs. Several others were indicted, and many have pleaded guilty.
Most key figures were arrested during a Jan. 26 traffic stop that ended with police fatally shooting Arizona rancher Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a spokesman for the occupation. Others left after Finicum’s death, but four holdouts extended the standoff to 41 days.
Here’s a recap of the takeover and a look at what to expect at trial:
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WHO ARE THE DEFENDANTS?
Occupation leaders and brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy; two of the last holdouts, David Fry and Jeff Banta; as well as Shawna Cox, Kenneth Medenbach and Neil Wampler. All are charged with conspiring to impede U.S. Interior Department employees at the refuge through intimidation, threats or force.
On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss the conspiracy charge against another defendant, Pete Santilli, an independent broadcaster who was present at the standoff. His attorney had argued his actions were protected under the First Amendment.
Cox, Fry, Banta and the Bundys also are charged with possessing a firearm at a federal facility. Cox, Medenbach and Ryan Bundy are acting as their own lawyers.
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WHY WERE THEY AT THE REFUGE?
It started as a protest against the imprisonment of two Oregon ranchers convicted of setting fires and grew into demands for the U.S. government to turn public lands over to local control.
The father-and-son ranchers distanced themselves from the occupiers, reporting to prison two days after the standoff began. Ammon Bundy and others contend that the Constitution limits federal power to acquire and own property within a state’s borders, revealing the larger dispute over the government’s control of vast expanses of Western range.
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HOW DID THE OCCUPATION END?
The Bundys and other leaders were driving to a community forum when police stopped and arrested them. Finicum fled and crashed his truck into a snowbank to avoid a police roadblock. Authorities say he was reaching for a weapon when he exited the vehicle and that’s when Oregon State Police officers opened fire.
The four occupiers who remained after Finicum’s death finally surrendered on Feb. 11 after protracted negotiations with federal authorities who surrounded the refuge.
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HOW MANY PEOPLE FACE CHARGES?
A total of 26 people were charged with conspiracy. Eleven have pleaded guilty, including several from Bundy’s inner circle. Seven defendants sought and received a delay in their trial, now scheduled for February.
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WHAT’S THE GOVERNMENT’S EVIDENCE?
The takeover received extensive media coverage, Ammon Bundy gave daily news conferences and the group used social media in a mostly unsuccessful effort to get others to join them. In short, there’s no question the group occupied the refuge. Prosecutors have said the evidence includes seized weapons, thousands of photographs, thousands of hours of video and reams of information gleaned from social media.
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WHAT’S THEIR DEFENSE?
They claim they used their First Amendment rights to engage in a peaceful protest and that those with guns were exercising their Second Amendment rights. The occupiers contend that nobody was threatened, no workers were impeded from performing their duties and the government fired the only shots. Moreover, they say those shots, which killed Finicum, showed why they needed guns for protection.
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IS THE TRIAL GOING TO LAST LONGER THAN THE OCCUPATION?
It looks that way. U.S. District Judge Anna Brown has set aside three days for jury selection, and opening statements are tentatively scheduled to start Sept. 13. The trial is expected to take two or three months.
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AREN’T THE BUNDYS ALSO FACING TRIAL IN NEVADA?
They and five others from the Oregon case have been charged in a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents near their father Cliven’s cattle ranch in Bunkerville, Nevada. The three Bundys are scheduled for a February trial in Las Vegas.
The elder Bundy drew national attention after his sympathizers pointed weapons at agents rounding up his cattle on public land. The U.S. government says he racked up more than $1.1 million in unpaid grazing fees and penalties over two decades, while Cliven Bundy claims it has no authority over the land.
Several people took part in both standoffs. Federal officials were widely viewed as having backed down from the elder Bundy, possibly emboldening the Oregon occupation.
Cliven Bundy was arrested at Portland International Airport in February when he arrived to visit his sons.
Workers dismantling OSU’s Peavy Hall
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP) — The longtime home of the Oregon State University College of Forestry is being demolished to make way for a new classroom and laboratory building.
The Gazette-Times reports Peavy Hall is a campus landmark, and some members of the OSU community have questioned the decision to rebuild rather than renovate.
An OSU spokesman says renovation was considered, but would have resulted in a less functional building than the new Peavy Hall. At 80,000 square feet, the three-story structure will be slightly smaller than the old building.
The demolition work began earlier this summer. Workers have been dismantling it piece by piece rather than just bash it with a wrecking ball. The college plans to reuse 20 percent of the material in the new structure and recycle 65 percent.