The Cranberry Marketing order is up for a vote…to renew or not to renew that IS the question!

Sure, I have my problems with the CMC.  I go to most meetings and get frustrated, and vow never to go again.  Mainly this is due to the fact that I believe we should use the part of the order that allows us to limit supply in an over supply situation.  That handler withhold or producer allotment has only happened 4? times in the history of the order, so it is rare that the members come together on that item.

What members DO agree on, mostly, are the data collection parts of the order and the leveraging the power of all of us growers to invest in our own crop and futures by accessing the matching funds to bring the cranberry to all parts of the world.  I believe the marketing efforts of the CMC both domestic and international have been outstanding.  We have been targeting specific markets in the past few years and I think the results are just beginning to show.  It would be premature to stop those efforts now, as I believe that the only way to get out of this over supply situation is the sell our cranberries, everywhere.  Period.

So, the time is now growers.  The ballots are in the mail to your farm.  Vote no, or vote yes…but please vote!

There are about 900 varieties on the market, and planting a crabapple is a decision that lasts for decades.

MYRTLE POINT — Thanks to a $2,000 check, workers were able to recently paint the Coos County Logging Museum's ceiling.

COOS BAY — Paddles up. We’re coming in peace.

COQUILLE — For businesswoman Lisa Johnson, the Coquille Carousel comes to more than simply promoting her town. She wants this to be for all of Coos County.

For starters, Trigs is generically calling a sweetened dried cranberry a Craisin. If I were OSpray I would have a problem with that. 

The product is apparently (elderberry) OSprays choice product which they claimed they would never sell retail.   See above. 

Finally. $5.99/lb??  Wowzer. I’m calling Trig.

Don’t you love it when I go shopping??  

I’m thinking the concentrate auction results were good news! The starting auction prices were 11.90, 12.16, $12.77 and the final prices after 7 rounds of bidding were $14.65, $12.91 and $15.02. All up above the last auction. Am I missing something here? Clearly those prices are not good enough for the grower, but up is up and that is better than down.

But on another note, in looking at this slide that Scott Soares showed at the Cranberry Institute meeting in March it seems like our 2014 carryin didn’t have an huge supply of whole frozen fruit or processed goods, but a large supply of concentrate. If I’m reading this right at 8/31/14 we had a carry in of 2.6mm barrels of whole frozen fruit. That is the frozen fruit that would carry us unitl the 2014 crop is sufficiently frozen and ready in January-february 2015. Given that we have capacity to dry about 8mm barrels of cranberries into SDCs, (my estimate) the 2mm barrels of carry in seems about right or even light. That would suggest an interesting tightening of the SDC market. That along with a good not great crop in 2014, and a government purchase that will absorb 400,000 bbls…the CMC numbers that are about to be reported as of today 4/30 will tell an interesting story.

Comments anyone??

COQUILLE — For businesswoman Lisa Johnson, the Coquille Carousel comes to more than simply promoting her town. She wants this to be for all of Coos County.

ADRIAN, Ore. — A castoff wolf from a Northeast Oregon pack has taken up temporary residence in Malheur County in Eastern Oregon and has been seen by several farmers and irrigation ditch workers.

Two of those farmers told the Capital Press they were stunned to see a full-grown wolf laying in a wheat field west of Adrian on April 21.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife officials confirmed that they weren’t imagining things.

“Everybody is correct in what they saw,” said Philip Milburn, a district wildlife biologist in ODFW’s Ontario office.

The male wolf, which has a tracking collar, entered Malheur County around April 10 and has been hanging out west of Adrian in sagebrush country for more than a week, he said.

“On (April 21), for some reason he decided to come down and visit ... farm country,” Milburn said.

On that day, two farmers in a pickup truck saw the wolf laying in a wheat field, apparently napping.

“We were just sitting there in shock,” said Casey Kuenzli, one of those producers. “He stood up and cut in front of us across the road about 20 feet away.”

Kuenzli, who is also a professional guide, said he was certain the animal was a wolf even before the ODFW confirmed the animal’s presence in the area to the Capital Press.

“There’s no mistaking what it was,” he said, adding that the wolf was black on top and “brown going down the sides.”

Marvin Seuell, another farmer who was in the truck with Kuenzli, said the wolf appeared to weigh about 150 pounds.

“He came within 20 or 30 feet of us,” he said. “I was shocked.”

During the wolf’s visit to farm country on April 21, it also swam across a canal in front of some ditch workers, Milburn said.

He said the wolf, known as OR 22, separated from the Umatilla River Pack in Northeast Oregon about Feb. 13 and has “been wandering around in a dispersing pattern” since then.

There have been a few reported wolf sightings in Malheur County in the past, as well as some confirmed wolf tracks, and a collared wolf crossed briefly from Baker County into Malheur County last May, Milburn said.

But OR 22 is believed to be the first wolf that has spent more than a short amount of time in the county, he said.

“We’re just letting him be; he hasn’t done anything to indicate he’s going to be a problem,” Milburn said. “We keep expecting he’s not going to stay here ... but he’s been proving us wrong.”

SALEM — Legislation providing tax relief for urban farmers has progressed in the Oregon House but concerns about unintended land use effects continue to shadow the proposal.

House Bill 2723, which allows local governments to impose lower property taxes on urban farms, was recently referred for a vote on the House floor by a key legislative committee.

Despite voting 6-1 for a “do pass” recommendation, members of the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water said questions must still be resolved about the impact of “agriculture incentive zones” on urban growth boundaries.

Under HB 2723, urban farmers in these zones would be subject to lower property tax rates as long as they use their properties for agriculture for five years.

The Oregon Home Builders Association is concerned that landowners who make such commitments will effectively exclude their properties from residential construction within cities.

The group wants local governments to consider the effect of agriculture incentive zones when deciding whether to expand their urban growth boundaries, but the Oregon Farm Bureau fears this will put development pressure on farmland in rural areas.

The bureau also wants lawmakers to impose a sunset on the program so that it can eventually be re-evaluated, said Katie Fast, OFB’s vice president of public policy. “We feel the need to have a check-back with the legislature.”

Lawmakers have attempted to resolve the conflict with an amendment that specifies agriculture incentive zones are a factor in evaluating a city’s potential for future development.

However, state regulators think the provision may clash with other language in the bill that says these zones have no effect on a city’s inventory of buildable lands, said Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem.

Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, said he gave HB 2723 a “courtesy no” so that the bill would not appear to have unanimous support, thereby signaling to the Senate that revisions are still necessary.

Jan. 13, 1929 - April 14, 2015

SALEM — Proponents of a bill limiting the legal exposure of agritourism operations in Oregon have overcome the objections of trial lawyers who initially fought the proposal.

Under Senate Bill 341, farmers aren’t liable for the death or injury of agritourism participants as long as they post warnings of possible dangers, with some exceptions.

The legal protection wouldn’t cover growers who have “wanton and willful disregard” for safety, purposely hurt visitors or fail to properly inspect the property or equipment.

Friends of Family Farmers and the Oregon Farm Bureau claim the bill would provide more certainty for agritourism operations and their insurers, but the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association had opposed the legislation for allegedly immunizing negligent farmers from lawsuits.

During an April 21 work session, however, the group dropped its objections to an amended version of SB 341 and the Senate Judiciary Committee referred the bill to the Senate floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

Arthur Tower, political director for OTLA, said his group is wary of legislation that seeks to erode consumer protections and the ability of citizens to have their day in court.

The latest revisions to SB 341 have “struck the right balance” by providing more information about safeguards for landowners and consumers while ensuring “bad actors” would still be held responsible, he said.

Ivan Maluski, policy director of Friends of Family Farms, said the changes have made the legislation more specific than the original about growers’ responsibilities.

“I’m pretty excited,” Maluski said. “This is a neat step forward if we can get it through the entire legislative process.”

The goal of SB 341 isn’t just to give more peace of mind to agritourism providers, but to clarify the legal landscape for insurers, he said.

The legislation will hopefully convince more insurers to cover agritourism operations, spurring competition and ultimately reducing rates, Maluski said.

As more states adopt such bills, it will also help create legal uniformity that reassures insurers, he said. “Almost no insurance company wants to touch agritourism right now.”

SALEM — A bill to create “control areas” for increased regulation of genetically modified crops in Oregon has died in committee, but the basic idea may be revived.

House Bill 2674 would require the Oregon Department of Agriculture to designate control areas where biotech crops would come under new restrictions, such as isolation distances to prevent cross-pollination with other crops. Genetically modified organisms growing outside control areas would be “subject to eradication.”

Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, said the bill was too narrow in scope to keep alive, since Oregon agriculture faces other conflicts between crops that don’t involve genetic engineering.

For example, growers have similar cross-pollination concerns about canola and related brassica species and between the newly legalized crops of hemp and marijuana, he said.

While Clem allowed the bill to die during an April 21 work session of the House Committee on Rural Communities, Land Use and Water, he said there will be an ongoing effort to create a tool for ODA to resolve such disputes.

It’s possible such a proposal will be considered by the House Rules Committee, where bills can stay alive until the end of the legislative session.

Friends of Family Farmers, which supports GMO regulation, favored a more specific mechanism for dealing with biotechnology conflicts, said Ivan Maluski, the group’s policy director.

Biotech crops are unique because herbicide-tolerant varieties can cross with wild relatives, potentially turning them into the equivalent of invasive species, he said.

Foreign markets are also sensitive to GMO presence in crops, Maluski said. “Our preference would have been that we focused very narrowly on the issues surrounding genetic engineering.”

Oregonians for Food and Shelter, an agribusiness group that supports biotechnology, is heartened that HB 2674 has died in committee and plans to oppose similar concepts, said Scott Dahlman, its policy director.

“Coexistence is not enhanced by directing a state department to tell farmers what they can grow and how they can grow it,” he said.

Farmers who own land that’s often been in their family for generations can’t simply move their operations to grow a genetically engineered crop within a designated control area, Dahlman said.

He said such growers would be effectively be cut off from using the newest technology if they aren’t located within a control area.

Oregonians for Food and Shelter is instead supportive of ODA conducting mediation to resolve such conflicts, as proposed in House Bill 2509, which is headed for a vote on the House floor.

“We think that is the way to move forward,” he said.

SALEM — Farm regulators would receive an additional $2 million for regulating pesticides in Oregon under legislation passed by a key legislative committee.

The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources approved House Bill 3434, which funds increased pesticide rule enforcement, despite concerns by some lawmakers over how the money will be spent.

Numerous pesticide bills were considered by the committee this year, including bans on neonicotinoids and aerial spraying, before a work group narrowed down several concepts, including:

• Initiating a review of no-spray buffers by the Oregon Department of Forestry.

• Establishing standard operating procedures for investigating pesticide complaints by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

• Increasing the maximum civil penalties for pesticide violations by two-fold.

During an April 21 work session, Committee Chair Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie, said these concepts would by taken up in a new bill before the House Rules Committee.

However, the funding component — House Bill 3434 — remained before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Rep. Greg Barreto, R-Cove, said he was uncomfortable with approving $2 million in funding for pesticide programs that may be changed by the House Rules Committee.

“They can take your ideas and chose to do whatever they want to do,” he said.

Rep. Gail Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls, said she also planned to vote against HB 3434 for the same reason.

“I don’t know what might happen down there,” she said.

Witt said he was assured the upcoming bill before the Rules Committee would reflect the one agreed upon by committee members and the pesticide work group.

Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, and Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, said they would give HB 3434 “courtesy votes” but may change their positions depending on what happens with the remaining pesticide legislation.

The committee voted 6-2 to refer the bill to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means with a “do pass” recommendation.

SALEM — Irrigators would be able to transfer or lease water rights in Oregon’s Klamath Basin before they’re formally adjudicated under a bill recently approved by a key legislative committee.

Senate Bill 206 would allow temporary transfers for quantified water rights to give irrigators more flexibility even if the legal process deciding ownership is still pending.

The bill was met with resistance from opponents of a broader deal intended to resolve disputes over water in the region between farmers, conservationists and tribes.

The larger agreement calls for the controversial removal of four hydroelectric dams in the region and opponents of SB 206 claimed the bill was a necessary component of the deal.

Despite the opposition, the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources unanimously referred the bill for a vote on the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation on April 20.

A companion bill, Senate Bill 264, which gives state water regulators the authority to implement a deal with irrigators in the Upper Klamath Basin, was also unanimously approved during the work session.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The possibility of enough rain showers through the upcoming summer is probably nil, so ag-related businesses in the Klamath Basin anticipate another year of drought conditions.

There is basically no snowpack on the east side of the Cascade Range, so there’ll be little or no water from melt off in the hot months of July and August. It’s anticipated that thousands of acres won’t be put into production due to a lack of surface water to irrigate.

But the business owners aren’t necessarily pessimistic about the financial situation for their companies. They have dealt with water shortages over the past dozen years, so another year of drought for farmers and ranchers — and the businesses that support them — is nothing new.

But there is frustration that little has been done over the years to solve the water shortage situation.

“We need to develop off-stream storage,” said Ron Linman, co-owner with his father Archie Linman of Klamath Basin Equipment, a 26-year business that has stores in Klamath Falls, Lakeview, Redmond and Central Point. “The economic impact of agriculture needs to be considered hand-in-hand with the environmental impact. We need politicians who will deal with it using a common sense approach.”

Archie Linman said it has been suggested that winter and spring runoff water be pumped to Clear Lake southeast of Klamath Falls for storage and that Klamath Lake be dredged to hold more water and to lower the overall water temperature in the lake. Neither idea has been developed.

While the Linmans are hopeful their company won’t have to layoff employees later this year, they admit there is the possibility their mechanics won’t get as many overtime hours this summer and commissions may be down for sales people.

“But we’ll survive,” Archie Linman said. “We sure as hell plan on it.”

Bob Bunyard owns Klamath Pump Center of Klamath Falls, a 24-year-old business with six employees. He said the company has diversified beyond agricultural projects to keep its employees busy.

“I don’t know what the answer is,” said Bunyard, who also owns 100 acres of hay ground east of the city. “The growers have already done a lot for water conservation. We can’t get too much more efficient than what we are.

“We thought we were high on the pecking order, but the government has over allocated the (Klamath) river … the whole watershed,” he added.

Todd Greer, owner of D&D Seeds of Klamath Falls, a business his parents started in 1993, said he doesn’t know how much more belt-tightening can be done. He said he’ll continue to pursue different markets outside the Klamath Basin, selling seed north to Bend and Madras, Ore., and south to Redding, Calif. He’s also developed a market with landscape companies.

“I’m sure we’ll survive,” Greer said of his business that employs four. “But when outside forces don’t realize what is going on, that makes it more difficult. I’m sure plenty of people understand the situation, but plenty don’t.”

Chuck Johnson, co-owner of Pelican Tractor in Klamath Falls, explained that his business has also expanded its marketplace over the years, selling equipment south in Northern California and east to Lakeview. The 46-year, family-owned business has also added different products and parts lines.

“We have 10 employees and we plan to keep them. We’ll find work for them,” he said. “When you start putting fish and owls before people, this is what happens.”

Michael Ugalde, the territory manager for California in the Pape Machinery store at Merrill, Ore., said some customers recently have been asking about buying used equipment rather than new machinery.

He and Billy Conrad, the territory manager for Oregon at the Merrill store, said that less land will be put into production due to a lack of water to irrigate and in turn that will mean less equipment is needed to grow and process the crop.

The Merrill store has 18 employees. Ugalde said Pape has been good at maintaining its employees through tough times, but there’s still uncertainty for the workers.

“We’ve got a vested interest in this … it’s our livelihood,” he said.

“Until you’re in the middle of it, you just don’t realize how bad it is … the degree of its severity,” Conrad said.

Chris Moudry, a managing partner with Basin Fertilizer & Chemical Co. of Merrill, said land not being put into production will impact his business. He said he expects some substantial cutbacks for some ag-related companies. But he added the 41-year, family-owned Basin Fertilizer endured similar situations created by water shortages in 2001, ’02 and ’03 and survived.

“We didn’t lay off anybody then,” Moudry said of the business’ 40 employees. “We’re committed to our people on a long-term basis. Whether we can maintain that is decided one year at a time.

“Due to the nature of our business, working with hazardous materials and large expensive equipment, if we lay somebody off, we lose a lot of experience and knowledge,” he added.

Moudry said the dam on the upper Klamath Lake was put there to store water for agriculture and irrigation, but now the water is being sent downriver for fish.

“That water was put there for agriculture and now some should be taken back,” Moudry said. “We may be severely impacted, but I have confidence we’re going to survive. There is a trickle-down effect on the economy, but we’re not going to panic.”

Ron Linman said agriculture is the Klamath Basin’s largest industry so ag is key to an healthy economy in the area.

“This community relies on agriculture and timber because there are no other developing industries here,” he said. “I’d hate to see agriculture go down the same path as timber. We just need a common sense approach somewhere along the line to deal with the problem.”

SALEM — A bill that would create large-lot industrial areas outside urban growth boundaries in three Oregon counties has failed to pass a key committee.

The Oregon Farm Bureau and conservation groups opposed Senate Bill 716, which would have allowed Clackamas, Washington and Columbia counties to designate industrial reserves of up to 500 acres outside an established UGB.

Proponents of the bill claimed that large blocks of industrial land are currently rare in the Portland metropolitan area and would attract new companies and jobs to the region if made available.

Under SB 716, newly created industrial zones would be offset by reducing “urban reserves” in other areas — which supporters said would result in no net farmland loss — but opponents argued that the program would disrupt the existing land use system.

Large-lot industrial reserves would likely be designated on farmland, interfering with agriculture and undermining a “grand bargain” agreement that Oregon lawmakers struck in 2013 to settle a far-reaching lawsuit over urban and rural reserves, according to opponents of the bill.

Opponents also feared that the bill was intended to spur development in the “French Prairie” area south of Wilsonville, Ore., which has been designated as a rural reserve due to transportation and water constraints. They instead urged lawmakers to invest in “infrastructure” to spur development in existing industrial zones.

Members of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources voted 3-2 against moving the bill to the Senate floor with a “do pass” recommendation during a work session on April 20.

Committee chair Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, said he voted in favor of the bill because there’s a shortage of large lots in the Portland metropolitan area within industrial zones.

The bill would stimulate needed economic activity, he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to go against the grain to make some changes.”

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has declared drought emergencies in two more counties — Baker and Wheeler — due to drought, low snowpack levels and low water conditions.

The governor’s action Monday brings to seven the number of counties where the state has declared a drought emergency so far this year. The other counties are Crook, Harney, Klamath, Malheur and Lake. In 2014, a total of nine counties were under drought emergencies.

The counties asked the state to take action, and the Oregon Drought Council considered the requests by weighing current water conditions, future forecasts and agricultural impacts. Drought continues to have significant impacts on agriculture, livestock and natural resources in each of the counties.

The governor’s declaration allows increased flexibility in how water is managed to ensure that limited supplies are used as efficiently as possible. Brown is also working with Oregon’s federal delegation, state agencies and local governments to address drought issues.

April 26: Actress-comedian Carol Burnett is 82. Guitarist-songwriter Duane Eddy is 77. Singer Maurice Williams of Maurice and the Zodiacs is 77. Singer Bobby Rydell is 73. Singer Gary Wright i…

SALEM — Certain rural landowners would be subject to increased tax rates to pay for predator control under legislation being considered by Oregon lawmakers.

House Bill 3188 would allow landowners to petition counties to establish special tax districts in which properties would be assessed up to $1 an acre to raise funds for predator control conducted by USDA’s Wildlife Services.

Proponents of the bill claim it’s necessary to protect the livestock industry and compensate for reduced federal timber payments to counties.

“This bill is driven by the landowners,” said Rep. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, who sponsored the bill.

Ranchers try to use fences and guard dogs to fend off cougars, coyotes and other predators but these strategies aren’t effective in all situations, said Dan Dawson, a sheep producer in Douglas County, Ore.

“Sometimes we need to target the animals that are causing the problem,” he said during an April 16 hearing before the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

During an April 21 work session, the committee unanimously voted to refer the bill to the House floor with a “do pass” recommendation.

Livestock production is a major economic contributor in rural Oregon but predators take a major toll on ranchers’ profits, proponents of HB 3188 say.

“There are some areas of the ranch where we no longer run sheep” due to predation problems, said David Briggs, a rancher near Myrtle Creek, Ore.

Proponents said HB 3188 would provide a stable funding source and the special districts would be overseen by county commissioners, who would decide whether or not to approve such programs.

“This is an opt-out program. It’s not mandatory,” said Ron Jort, who testified in favor of the bill.

Opponents of the legislation claim current mechanisms for funding predator control are sufficient and there’s no reason to add more bureaucracy to the system.

Predators do not respect geographic boundaries and decisions about management should not be made at the local level, according to opponents.

Scott Beckstead, state director for Oregon at the Humane Society of the United States, said his group is not categorically opposed to predator control but would like to see such measures incorporate other points of view.

“We believe there needs to be a greater emphasis placed on non-lethal approaches to predator management,” he said.

The House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources recently considering several other bills related to predators that have met with opposition from environmental groups:

• House Bill 3514, which would extend a tax credit for livestock losses from wolves, was referred to the House Revenue Committee with a “do pass” recommendation.

• House Bill 2050, which would exempt counties from the ban on using dogs to hunt cougars in some circumstances, died in committee due to a lack of bipartisan support, according to Chair Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie.

• House Bill 3515, which would prohibit state wildlife regulators from listing wolves as threatened or endangered, has died for the same reason, Witt said.