The Oregon Natural Resources Report - Agricultural News from Oregon

Local growers seeing upswing
–Growers reporting signs of recovery
By Curt Kipp
Oregon Association of Nurseries

Nursery growers in Oregon are reporting signs of recovery from the sour economy, according to Mateusz Petrowski of the Capital Press (Salem, Ore.). Consumers are more confident, and as a result, retailers are placing their orders earlier in the season. However, there’s still some concern that independent garden centers are understocking their shelves, and missing out on sales as a result of it. Read the full article.

The American Soybean Association Sees  Disproportionate Cuts to Agriculture in the House Continuing Resolution
The American Soybean Association

February 16, 2011…Saint Louis, Missouri… The American Soybean Association (ASA) today expressed its concern with the disproportionate cuts in agriculture spending in H.R. 1, the Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011. On Feb. 15, ASA, joined by 31 other agriculture organizations, sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers (R-KY) and Ranking Member Norman Dicks (D-WA) expressing concern that H.R. 1 cuts to agriculture are more than double the amount proposed to be cut in overall non-defense discretionary spending.

“While we understand the bill’s efforts to decrease discretionary spending, we are concerned that agriculture is being required to absorb a disproportionate amount of the cuts,” said ASA President Alan Kemper, a soybean farmer from Lafayette, Ind.

ODFW plant give-away this Wednesday
Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

ROSEBURG, Ore. – On Tuesday, March 1, Douglas County gardeners and nature enthusiasts can celebrate spring with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s annual plant give-away. The event is 9 am – 1 pm at the ODFW Roseburg office, 4192 N. Umpqua Highway. Gardeners are limited to three plants per person.

The free plants provide forage for big game, birds, amphibians, reptiles and various mammals. It also gives people an alternative to artificial wildlife feeding.

Scholarships available through the Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation
By Oregon farm Bureau

The Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation (OAEF) is pleased to announce that applications are available for two scholarship programs for the upcoming 2011-2012 academic year.

Oregon Farm Bureau Memorial Scholarships (OFBMS) with 10-12 awards annually are open to any Oregon high school graduate preparing for an agriculture or forestry-related career. Students attending institutions outside of Oregon are also eligible. The goal of the OFB Memorial Scholarship program is to “Support students that will have a positive impact on production agriculture and other agriculture-related fields”. The deadline for applications is March 1, 2011.

NCBA: Study Shows Costly Consequences of Regulating Dust
By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

WASHINGTON (Feb. 23, 2011) – The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is concerned that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) current review of National Ambient Air Quality Standards of the Clean Air Act could result in the regulation of coarse particulate matter (dust) at levels as low as 65-85 µg/m3, or twice as stringent as the current standard. In anticipation of a proposed rule on this issue, NCBA contracted with Dr. John Richards, Ph.D., P.E. of Air Quality Control Techniques to study the likely effects regulating dust at such stringent levels would have on attainment and nonattainment regions throughout the United States. The study concluded that moving forward with regulating dust at anticipated levels would bring vast areas of the United States into nonattainment or to the brink of nonattainment.

OSU $4 million climate change grant
– OSU to study farming methods in bid to curb, adapt to climate change
By Oregon State University

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has been named a partner on a $20 million grant to ensure the long-term viability of cereal-based farming in the inland Pacific Northwest amid a changing climate. OSU will receive $4 million of the total award, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today in Washington, D.C. The other participants are the University of Idaho, Washington State University and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

House eases laws on farmers’ markets
By Oregon House Democrat Caucus

HB 2336 eases regulations of farmers who sell their own products.   The Oregon House passed HB 2336, which supports farmers’ markets by modernizing state laws regulating farmers markets and direct sales by farmers to the public.

“Farmers’ markets have become an increasingly popular source for farmers to market their goods and for consumers to purchase fresh and healthy produce,” said Representative Brian Clem (D-Salem) a key supporter of the bill. “From my perspective, we should do all we can to help family farmers continue to sell their safe and healthy produce to the Oregonians that support them.”

New Water Quality Standards Threaten Oregon’s Economy
By Oregon Prosperity Project

Water quality standards are designed to protect human health from toxic pollutants that may accumulate in Oregon’s fish and water sources. Oregon’s high water quality standards currently do the job of protecting Oregonians’ health while also allowing key economic industries to play a vital role in our state’s economy.

But what happens when regulators go overboard? Industries are shut down. Jobs are lost. Entire communities are devastated.

Trends in Oregon green transportation jobs, wages
By Oregon Employment Department

Oregon was awarded a $1.25-million Green Jobs Labor Market Information Improvement Grant in December 2009 aimed at increasing the state’s understanding of green jobs. One goal of the grant is to identify Oregon’s green sectors and track employment and wages in those sectors over time. The transportation sector is the fifth to be studied under the grant.

There are a number of groups throughout Oregon involved in identifying and measuring green sectors in the state. One of those groups – the Oregon Green Jobs Council – is legislatively responsible for, among other things, identifying high-demand green industries in Oregon. The Oregon Green Jobs Council has identified green transportation as one such industry.

By Wood Resources International LLC

China has come to the rescue for many sawmills and timberland owners in the US and Canada the past year. The value of softwood logs and lumber shipped from North America to China is estimated to reach over 1.6 billion US dollar in 2010, which is up dramatically from just a few years ago. In 2008, total exports were valued at 350 million dollars, while they were only 125 million dollars five years ago.

CEO position open for Oregon Wheat Growers League
By Oregon Wheat Growers League

The Oregon Wheat Commission and Oregon Wheat Growers League are pleased to announce the position of Chief Executive Officer, Oregon Wheat. The industry is seeking a dynamic and proven Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to provide leadership, vision, focus, and unity to the Oregon wheat industry. The CEO will serve as the principal administrator of both the OWC and OWGL, operating under the direction of the OWC and the Board of Directors of the OWGL, respectively.

This concept was first recommended in 2008 by a task force created to take an in depth look at the industry organizations and recommend potential changes to maximize benefit to the growers. In October of 2010 the two groups voted to formally explore the concept and vet with the stakeholders. This announcement follows numerous stakeholder meetings and significant committee work to explore the details and prepare written information on the subject.

As part of the process, it was also decided that both the Portland office of the Oregon Wheat Commission and the Pendleton office of the Oregon Wheat Growers League would remain open. Leadership from both organizations also stressed the importance of both organizations maintaining their individual identity and purposes.

A search committee has been formed and the deadline for applications is March 31, 2011. Interested persons should send a cover letter, resume, and three references (electronic submissions preferred) to Sally Christensen (schrist@owgl.org), Oregon Wheat Growers League, 115 SE 8th Street, Pendleton, OR 97801, 541-276-7330.

Study shows 15% of state’s economy tied to Ag
By Oregon Department of Agriculture

An updated study of Oregon agriculture’s economic footprint shows the industry has actually increased its contribution to the state’s overall economy despite facing the same recessionary challenges other industries have endured. The Oregon State University study, commissioned by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, bolsters the claim that agriculture is a critically important part of the state’s economic past, present, and future.

Federal Budget Update: Farm Payments, EPA and Appropriations
By Oregon Farm Bureau

FISCAL YEAR 2011 APPROPRIATIONS

Last Friday, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act 2011 was introduced. This continuing resolution (CR) will fund the federal government from March 5 through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The federal government is currently operating off of a CR good through March 4. The measure is expected to be debated for three days this week beginning Tuesday afternoon under an open rule. This means there is no limit on the number of amendments that can be offered. Proposals to make additional cuts are expected.

The CR would reduce federal spending $60.8 billion below the amount of spending that Congress approved for FY 2010.

Wine producers move closer to market balance
California Farm Bureau Federation
By Steve Adler

A feeling of optimism radiated through the Sacramento Convention Center as wine sector leaders from around the world gathered in record numbers last week for the 17th annual Unified Wine and Grape Symposium. During the event’s most popular and well attended session, the state of the industry report, a winegrape grower leader, a market researcher and a marketing guru discussed where the wine sector is now and where it is headed.

Nat DiBuduo, president of Allied Grape Growers in Fresno, estimated the 2010 California winegrape harvest at 3.18 million tons, down by 14 percent from the huge 2009 crop of 3.7 million tons and closer to production totals for the three previous years.

DEQ Toxic Standards Rulemaking
By Oregonians for Food and Shelter

The legislature’s House Business and Labor Committee hosted an Informational Hearing on the potential impact of the DEQ proposed water quality regulations on Oregon’s economy. The hearing was open to invited testimony, which only included DEQ Director Dick Pederson, DEQ Water Quality Director Neil Mullane and EPA Region 10 Director Mike Bussell. The regulators faced some very tough questioning from the committee on how these proposed new water quality regulations will impact farming practices in Oregon. Pederson stated he had no intention of regulating farming practices and planned on leaving water quality regulation to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Rep. Cliff Bentz of Ontario questioned the motives of the rulemaking proposal altogether if DEQ had no intention of intervening in the current Agricultural Water Quality Management Plans.

Fed rules could turn 108-acre farm into a 10-acre farm
By Congressman Greg Walden,

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today took aim at new regulations that threaten Oregon’s farmers, ranchers, and foresters. He singled out the Environmental Protection Agency’s new proposed rules on three pesticides used to protect crops like onions, cherries, potatoes, hops, and beets, and to manage mosquitoes. The results are potential new buffer zones where chemical applications would be banned—depending on the circumstances, anywhere from 100 to 1,000 feet along bodies of water or intermittent streams.

On the House floor, Rep. Walden displayed an aerial map of a field in Oregon that could be impacted.

In one potential example, a 108-acre field with an intermittent stream on both sides and a voluntary 60-foot buffer put in place by the farmer (which removes 10 acres from production) could be subject to additional new buffer zones ranging from 100 to 1,000 feet.

EPA GHG Regulations Brings ‘Double Economic Jolt’ to Ag
By American Farm Bureau Federation

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 9, 2011 – America’s farmers and ranchers will receive a “double economic jolt” from the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation of greenhouse gases, the American Farm Bureau Federation told a House subcommittee today. Philip Nelson, president of the Illinois Farm Bureau, testified on behalf of AFBF before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power.

“First, any costs incurred by utilities, refiners, manufacturers and other large emitters to comply with GHG regulatory requirements will be passed on to the consumers of those products, including farmers and ranchers,” Nelson explained. “As a result, our nation’s farmers and ranchers will have higher input costs, namely fuel and energy costs, to grow food, fiber and fuel for our nation and the world.”

The Illinois farm leader said EPA’s regulations could increase fertilizer prices for farmers because the rules outline a larger role for natural gas, replacing coal and other fossil fuels. Natural gas is a principal component in fertilizer production.

Wheat Industry to Congress: Don’t Cut Research Funding
By National Association of Wheat Growers

More than 40 wheat growers, researchers, millers and bakers are in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday to urge Members of Congress and the Obama Administration to protect federal investments in wheat research that return $10 to the nation’s economy for every dollar spent.

Funding for USDA programs including wheat research is under threat because of attempts to cut government expenditures and the United States’ massive debt. Federal government spending on wheat research is considered discretionary spending, the type most targeted for cuts by the House Budget Committee.

Historically, because wheat research focuses on locally-adapted varieties for the nation’s six classes of wheat, the work is spread among many different USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) locations and state land grant universities, which have specialized expertise and staff. Agriculture research funding has been essentially flat for 20 years while expenses for salaries and new technology have continued to climb.

Oregon’s agricultural sales rebound 3.8 percent in 2010 after dismal 2009
By Oregon State University Extension Office

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon’s farmers and ranchers grossed $4.3 billion in sales last year, a 3.8 percent rebound from a dismal 2009, according to estimates in an Oregon State University report, which is released annually.

“In general, prices for agricultural commodities in 2010 were higher than the surprisingly low prices in 2009, but sales did not spring back as much as we hoped,” said Larry Burt, the OSU Extension Service economist who compiled the report. It contains preliminary estimates for gross farmgate sales for 2010 and revised numbers for 2009 and 2008.

Gross farmgate sales plunged 15 percent in 2009 over the previous year, marking the biggest percentage drop observed in more than three decades.

Time to delist the gray wolf
By National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

WASHINGTON (Feb. 8, 2011) – The Public Lands Council (PLC), the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the American Sheep Industry Association (ASI) and 32 other livestock organizations from across the nation sent letters to U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) in support of legislation they recently introduced to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). H.R. 509, introduced by Representative Rehberg, has bipartisan support from 15 cosponsors, while Senator Hatch’s (R-Utah) similar legislation, S. 249, has eight cosponsors.

The bipartisan effort calls for a new management regime for the gray wolf that will empower state and local officials to create and implement recovery plans on a state-by-state basis, thereby bringing relief to livestock producers experiencing depredation, said NCBA President and Montana rancher, Bill Donald. Instead of delisting wolves, Donald added, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continuously increases ESA Recovery Plan goals, making delisting impossible.