Astoria at North Bend

The first Eight Man Football Classic last fall was a success, with two games highlighted by a win for Powers.

The first Eight Man Football Classic last fall was a success, with two games highlighted by a win for Powers.

The September 1966 Cranberry Bowl football game vs. Siuslaw.

The September 1966 Cranberry Bowl football game vs. Siuslaw. 

Unusually warm weather made for an early start to the wine grape harvest in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, and continued cool nights should assure quality is top notch, a research climatologist said.

Gregory Jones, a professor at Southern Oregon University who tracks the industry and specializes in how climate variability affects vine growth and wine production, said many growers are reporting the earliest harvest since 1992, or the earliest harvest ever at their vineyards.

Early ripening and sparkling wine varieties were the first picked, Jones said in an email newsletter he circulates to about 3,000 subscribers in the West.

“All other varieties are lining up for harvest but the recent shift to cool nights will allow for some timely queuing for flavors to develop,” Jones said in his Sept. 5 newsletter.

The unusually hot summer, of course, is the reason for an early harvest.

Average temperatures for August were one to four degrees above normal in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho, Jones reported.

The increase in degree-day accumulation — the combination of heat and time required to complete a plant’s growth — was even more striking, especially in Oregon and Washington, Jones said.

Degree-day accumulation in both states as of Sept. 1 was 10 to 15 percent above 2014, another hot summer, and 30 to 35 percent higher than 1981 to 2010 averages, he said.

The arrival of cooler nights, if the pattern holds, can put a good finish on what appears to be another good grape crop.

“There are two things that help plants to start ripening, especially wine grapes,” Jones said. “Shorter days, and cool nights. That is an environmental cue to tell the plant, ‘We have to ripen this fall.’ ”

The same thing happens with tomatoes, which take on a deep red color as summer ebbs, he said.

“Those cooler nights tell them to do this soon or you’re not going to ripen,” Jones said.

Jones said vineyard managers face day to day harvest decisions in such conditions. “How long do they leave fruit out there to get the different flavors they want?” he said.

Jones agreed Oregon growers are optimistic at harvest time no matter the conditions.

“It’s kind of like in Bordeau, in France,” he said with a laugh. “It’s always the vintage of the century.”

LANGLOIS — A month-long silent auction fundraiser has begun at the Langlois Public Library. The auction will continue through Saturday, Sept. 12, until the annual Blueberry Bash. The Bash will start at 6 p.m. and the auction will end at…

LANGLOIS — A month-long silent auction fundraiser has begun at the Langlois Public Library. The auction will continue through Saturday, Sept. 12, until the annual Blueberry Bash. The Bash will…

Quilts on display during festival

Quilts on display during festival

If you're one of those people who prefers their predictions done in the preseason, one of those football fans who loves seeing the NCAA preview in late July, sorry to disappoint you. Those NCAA-style preseason rankings continue to be objectively…

If you're one of those people who prefers their predictions done in the preseason, one of those football fans who loves seeing the NCAA preview in late July, sorry to disappoint you. Those NCA…

The 10 percent boost in attendance at the Oregon nursery industry’s Farwest Show this year bodes well for ornamental plant sales, according to the event’s organizer.

More than 6,000 people attended the 2015 trade show, which seeks to connect wholesale producers of nursery stock with retailers and other buyers.

“I think it’s a further indicator the nursery industry is recovering,” said Jeff Stone, executive director of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which organizes the annual event.

Last year, Oregon nursery sales grew 11 percent to $830 million, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Oregon’s favorable growing conditions have allowed the nursery industry to capitalize on increased demand, said Stone.

Nursery producers in the state also didn’t cut back on production as much as growers elsewhere, putting them in a better position as the economy improved, he said.

“Oregon product is moving. There are shortages in the marketplace,” said Stone.

Rising revenues are the result of larger consumption rather than increased prices, with demand growing due to the housing market’s recovery and greater yard investments by homeowners, he said.

The market is even on the upswing for the beleaguered shade tree sector, which was particularly hard hit when residential construction plummeted, he said.

The industry has generally become more flexible, with retailers repeatedly making orders throughout the year as their inventory decreases, rather than buying large amounts of stock at once, Stone said.

Nursery producers also re-oriented to focus on newly-popular products, such as food-producing trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, he said.

“It’s about trying to anticipate that demand,” he said.

The Farwest Show remains an important financial component of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which derives roughly one-third of its revenues from the annual event.

That’s down from about half of its revenues before the recession, as the association has diversified to include other sources of income, Stone said.

OAN tries not to be overly reliant on membership dues, keeping them at about one-third to one-fourth of its budget, he said. Instead, the group has begun offering more fee services, such as insurance and fuel programs.

While the Farwest Show is a major revenue stream, it’s also expensive to produce.

Not only does the event require a lot of staff time, but renting the Oregon Convention Center isn’t cheap, said Stone.

The location is great for OAN due to its ability to accommodate large events, he said. “Because of our size, we’re fairly limited on where we can go.”

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — The wait for In-N-Out Burger is over for Oregon residents.

The Mail Tribune reports that the In-N-Out chain has formally announced a Wednesday opening for its first restaurant in the state in Medford.

The store was to start serving at 9 a.m. after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

City officials are preparing for increased traffic and waits of up to four-hours in the drive-thru and walk-in parts of the restaurant.

Those looking to sneak in early should be warned that the parking lot will be secured until the store opens.

After the opening, officials say the burger joint will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Runners can sign up now for the Prefontaine Memorial Run, which marks its 36th year on Saturday, Sept. 19.

Runners can sign up now for the Prefontaine Memorial Run, which marks its 36th year on Saturday, Sept. 19.

I get worried when my blog stats fly off the roof on a random Tuesday in September.  Makes me wonder if anything is going on in cranberry land that I don’t know about.  (I am sure there are LOTS of things I don’t know about!)  What I do know is that the industry people think the Wisconsin crop is ok, not huge, not small.  That would probably be a good thing.

I also know that there are lots of things going on with the lawsuit.  Depositions have begun or are close to starting. Subpoenas have been issued and answered.  Both sides are lining up experts and building their case.  This case is on a relative fast track as these things go, but I don’t think anyone should bank on big bucks (if any) soon.  If you are an independent grower struggling to make ends meet, don’t plan on this lawsuit as a bailout.  Get to your bank and work something out.

I saw new releases that Oregon was harvesting already!  Now that is a surprise as I understand  that they usually harvest really late, sometimes early November.  I think that this early harvest was due to newer varieties that color up early, and the majority of Oregon has a ways to go until harvest.

Portland — If there were any doubt about the diverse faces of Oregon agriculture, consider this: More than 175 prospective farmers have signed up for a one-day Small Farm School offered by Oregon State University Extension.

The program, coordinated by OSU’s Center for Small Farms, takes place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12 at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, southeast of Portland. A couple events are at the Clackamas County Event Center in Canby.

Workshops include horse handling and emergency vet care, tractor safety, soil testing, beekeeping and small engine basics, blueberry production, dryland vegetable farming, pasture management and more.

On-line registration is open through Thursday, Sept. 10.

Oregon’s small farms, especially in or next to urban areas, have found a market niche with high-end restaurants, roadside stands, farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscription buyers. The state has more than 9,000 farms that are one to nine acres.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9

JOSEPH, Ore. — A group of farmers and Washington State University researchers are studying whether quinoa, a grain traditionally grown in the South American Andes, can be a viable cash crop in the Northwest.

In 2014 Ted Golder of Seal Rock, Ore., came to Eastern Oregon on an exploratory mission. He thought the climate would be similar enough to the Andes to grow quinoa. In a local coffee shop he met Jerome Geortzen of Joseph, who was also on the same mission. Last summer the two started quinoa test plots in fields around the Wallowa Valley.

Golder said he first became interested in quinoa when it became popular in health food markets a few years ago.

“A nutritionist friend of mine in Eugene told me the climate and altitude in Wallowa County is not that different than some areas in South America. Then I learned through Washington State University we really do have one of the most optimum areas to potentially to grow it.”

Golder and Goertzen discovered Washington State had a team of researchers led by professor Kevin Murphy who are working with farmers all over the Northwest to grow different varieties of quinoa.

Last year Golder and Goertzen grew test crops at local farms. Using seed from last year’s crop and a variety from Colorado, this year they have 300 quinoa plants growing in seven rows near a conventional wheat field that Golder said are doing quite well.

In contrast, they have 16 rows of quinoa growing at Patrick Thiel’s Prairie Creek Farm outside of Joseph overseen by Washington State University researchers.

“Quinoa is a good fit with what I do,” Thiel said. “We’ve always grown specialized crops.”

Thiel’s farm is organic, which is more along the lines of what the researchers at Washington State have in mind, Golder said.

“It’s a good fit with WSU — they wanted their test plots grown organically,” Golder said.

Thiel said he was impressed with Washington State’s researchers when they came to lay out the test plots and outlined a uniform regiment for watering and weeding.

“They saw a value in doing a trial here. They get great research information while we keep it organic and grow it in a unique enough area,” Thiel said.

Farming is always a gamble. Golder said last year the weather was more consistent as was the crop.

This year a wet May stunted the growth of the newly planted starts. Thiel said quinoa is physiologically designed to come out of its seed in five days and puts down a taproot.

“If it’s overwatered they will stress and not survive,” Thiel said.

Rows were replanted, pushing out the harvest well into September, Golder said.

Not needing much water may be a major plus considering the extended drought in the West.

“Water is getting tighter every day,” Golder said.

Thiel said in South America quinoa is planted in a field and left until harvest.

“One of the things they liked about that crop is you leave it in an environment where it is doing well by itself,” Thiel said.

Golder said working with Washington State is important to help determine what traits farmers will want in their quinoa crop.

“Do they want it to be easily spotted from other similar plants like lamb’s quarter? Faster maturity?” he said. “The techniques we are using to grow quinoa will be repeated next year with a strategy. We are only half way there.”

Thiel said he couldn’t emphasize enough how important it is that Washington State is involved.

“They’ve worked with potatoes for more than 100 years. I see the same with the quinoa. They know how to do it,” Thiel said.