The Oregon Natural Resources Report - Agricultural News from Oregon

Record High 2010 Wine Shipments Make U.S. the World’s Largest Wine-Consuming Nation
By Wine Institute

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. surpassed France as the world’s largest wine-consuming nation in 2010, with wine shipments to the U.S. from California, other states and foreign producers growing 2% from the previous year to nearly 330 million cases, a record high for the industry, according to wine industry consultants Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates in Woodside. The estimated retail value of these sales was $30 billion, up 4% from 2009. Total French consumption was 320.6 million cases in 2010.

California wine accounted for a 61% volume share of the total U.S. wine market with sales at 199.6 million cases, up 1% from the previous year. Retail value was $18.5 billion. California’s total wine shipments worldwide to all markets in the U.S. and abroad (including exports) were 241.8 million cases, up 2% from the previous year.

The right to kill wolves
Natural Resource News Note:

The wolf issue is expected to take center stage in an Oregon Legislative House Committee that plans to have a hearing on four wolf related bills.    Oregon Cattlemen’s Association President Bill Hoyt,  said to the Associated Press, “It appears that the political and cultural will of the state of Oregon is to have wolves, and we have no problem with that.  We don’t want to kill every wolf that walks. We simply want to get along as well as we can. But if there is a conflict, we need to be able to defend ourselves.”More on the bills can be found at the Klamath Falls Herald article.

Here are the four bills.

House Bill 3013: Directs State Fish and Wildlife Commission to establish wolf depredation compensation and cost-sharing program for purposes of compensating persons who suffer loss or injury due to wolf depredation and providing financial assistance to persons who implement livestock management techniques or nonlethal wolf control techniques designed to discourage wolf depredation of livestock. Creates Wolf Management Compensation and Proactive Trust Fund and continuously appropriates fund moneys for purpose of providing compensation and financial assistance under program. Appropriates moneys from General Fund for purposes of program. Declares emergency, effective on passage.  Read HB 3013.

Portland Timbers sponsorship gives forestry messages a boot toward OFRI’s goal
By Oregon Forest Resources Institute,

PORTLAND, Ore.– This year, there’s an extra kick to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute’s annual educational advertising efforts. OFRI signed on as a limited sponsor of the Portland Timbers for the soccer club’s 2011 season. Known for their enthusiastic fans, the Timbers make their Major League Soccer home-field debut on April 14. Season tickets for the inaugural MLS season have already sold out.

A Sad Goodbye to Mike Propes
By Oregonians for Food and Shelter
We want to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Polk County Commissioner, Mike Propes. Mike served the citizens of Polk County for several years, his wisdom and expertise will be deeply missed. Services will be held this Saturday in Dallas.
The official process to choose who will serve the remainder of Mike Propes’ term on the Polk County Board of Commissioners is a two-step procedure that is likely to take about a month to finalize.
Because Propes was a Republican, the Polk County Republican Central Committee will compile a list of three to five nominees to the Board of Commissioners. Upon receipt of the list, the board will chose a procedure to review candidates and then vote to select one.

NCGA First Vice President Garry Niemeyer,
National Corn Growers Association

For years, there has been discontent with ethanol policy and it finally came to a head in the Senate this week with Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma proposing to eliminate the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. Now this comes at a very interesting time in our society, when we are facing rapidly rising energy costs and a senator from an oil state making the proposal.

Who Decides the Future of Farming, Ranching?
By Stewart Truelsen
American Farm Bureau Federation

It seems logical that the future of farming and ranching should be determined in large part by America’s farm and ranch families. Most of us would be quite satisfied because our nation’s farm and ranch families are doing a better job than any previous generation in producing food, fiber and fuel and conserving natural resources. Knowledge and experience passed from generation to generation of farmers and ranchers and scientific and technological advances have resulted in enormous progress in production agriculture. Why would anyone want to seriously tinker with it, especially when other essentials like energy and health care have far more pressing concerns and uncertain futures?

Yet, the dialogue about the future of farming in newspapers, television and over the internet often seems dominated by people who want to toss out the family farm and ranch system we have in this country in exchange for some radical new concept.  “Radical” is an understatement for some of the plans. In a recently published book, The Vertical Farm, Dr. Dickson Despommier, proposes that farms be relocated from the country to the city and stacked in high-rise buildings where city dwellers live and work nearby.

By Jana Jarvis,
Oregon Wheat Grower’s League

The carefully crafted bi-partisan power sharing arrangement in the Oregon House of Representatives was severely challenged during the fifth week of the 2011 legislative session. During the budget concerns of the 2009 session business had agreed to a short-term disconnect from the federal tax code – specifically the bonus depreciation and Section 179 small business provisions – with the understanding that these would be reconnected in 2011 for Oregon income tax purposes. SB 301 was the vehicle to reconnect both the personal and business tax provisions and it had passed the Senate and was on the floor of the House on Monday, March 7th. The Governor had included these costs in his budget and it was commonly understood that these reconnect provisions were part of SB 301. After passing the House Revenue Committee and on its way to the fl oor for a vote Legislative Counsel called the two co-chairs of the Revenue committee to inform them that SB 301 did not contain the business reconnect provisions. The business community and Co-chair Berger assumed that the bill would be pulled back to committee for this fi x; but Co-chair Barnhart and Democratic leader Rep. Hunt decided that the additional $100 million shouldn’t be taken off of the table and would not agree to pull the bill back to committee. That set the stage for the floor

Small town takes on Metro
Article Alert:

The Portland Tribune reports that the city of Cornelius finds the urban reserves it has been allocated unnaceptable and is going on a push to increase it. Currently, the city has 75 acres of vacant industrial land (110 entire industrial land). As the region grows so does the pressure to expand Metro’s boundaries.

Read the story here.

By Congressman Greg Walden,

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of Oregon’s House congressional delegation, Reps. Greg Walden (R-Hood River), Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield), Kurt Schrader (D-Canby), Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland), and David Wu (D-Hillsdale) were joined by 49 of their colleagues today in sending a bipartisan letter to Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen urging the Budget Committee to accommodate a reauthorization of county payments in the FY 2012 House Budget Resolution. Funding county payments in FY 2012 would ensure rural counties have the resources to provide essential services like emergency services, health care, and schools while Congress works to find long-term funding solutions for timber dependent communities.

Housing Starts and Permits Stall in February
By National Association of Hoembuilders

March 16, 2011 – Nationwide housing starts and issuance of permits for new housing construction both posted disappointing declines in February as concerns about a growing number of factors caused builders to pull back on production of new homes, according to newly released figures from the U.S. Commerce Department. Total housing starts declined 22.5 percent from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 479,000 units, the second-slowest pace on record. Equally disconcerting, total permit issuance for new homes fell 8.2 percent to a record low pace of 517,000 units in February.

Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Boost U.S. Hydropower Production, Jobs
– Hydropower Improvement Act would Expand Safe, Reliable, Clean Baseload Power
National Hydropower Association

Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2011) – As the nation looks for new sources of reliable clean energy, Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today introduced bipartisan legislation to accelerate the deployment of hydropower projects across the country. The Hydropower Improvement Act has nine original cosponsors, including Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Washington Senator Maria Cantwell (D), making hydropower a major area of consensus on energy in the 112th Congress.

“It is now all too clear that America needs a consensus policy on energy that can help keep prices low, create jobs and ensure a safe supply of power,” Senator Murkowski said. “Clean, safe and domestic hydropower can help us reach our shared clean energy goals. Our bill achieves common sense regulatory reform, spurs economic growth and takes advantage of hydropower’s position as the country’s leading source of clean, renewable energy.”

Sixth CR Cuts $6 Billion and Extends Federal Funding to April 8
Wheat Growers-National

The federal government will be funded until April 8 under a new continuing resolution finalized this week.The House passed the bill Tuesday by a 271-158 vote; the Senate approved the measure Thursday by an 87-13 vote. The agreed upon amount of cuts to avoid a government shutdown for three weeks was $6 billion, which tracks with House Republican goals of reducing spending by a total of $100 billion from the Obama Administration’s FY2011 budget proposal. Cuts, which were largely pre-negotiated and announced last Friday evening with CR bill text, eliminated $2.6 billion in earmark account funding renewed in a continuing resolution passed in December.

Of that total, $358 million came from agricultural research funds, including $122 million from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s research and education mission; $115 from the Agricultural Research Service; $24 million from Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) salaries; $37 million from conservation programs; and $11 million from extension services.

Cause of Imnaha wolf’s death unclear
By Dept of Fish and Wildlife,

LA GRANDE, Ore.—The exact cause of death for the Imnaha wolf found dead in early March is unclear. Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory ran several tests on the carcass looking for injuries, disease and toxins but test results did not point to a specific cause of death. The only abnormal finding was some internal hemorrhage in the wolf’s chest cavity. Forensic analysis did not point to a clear cause of the hemorrhage but biologists believe the hemorrhage may have contributed to the wolf’s death.

While the cause of the wolf’s death is unclear, wildlife managers acknowledge that capture-related deaths of wildlife can happen.

Small-acreage forest owners in Oregon will have an additional voice in forest policy following a decision made by the Oregon Board of Forestry.
By Oregon Department of Forestry

The Board of Forestry, at its March 9, 2011 meeting, adopted an Oregon Department of Forestry recommendation to add a non-voting seat on the Committee for Family Forestlands designated for the Oregon Small Woodlands Association (OSWA), a membership association representing Oregon landowners with between one acre and 5000 acres of forest ownership in the state.

The Committee for Family Forestlands advises the Oregon Board of Forestry and the State Forester on ways to improve the vitality of Oregon’s family forestlands, evaluate the impact of forest policy and regulatory changes on family forest owners, and expand opportunities for landowners to manage and market their timber, forest product and other economic resources.

Farmers Prevail in Court Decision on EPA Livestock Rules
By American Farm Bureau Federation

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 16, 2011 – In a major court victory for the American Farm Bureau Federation and other farm organizations, a unanimous federal court of appeals has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency cannot require livestock farmers to apply for Clean Water Act permits unless their farms actually discharge manure into U.S. waters. The ruling was welcomed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Pork Producers Council and several other agriculture groups that filed suit against EPA in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

“For the second time, a U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that EPA’s authority is limited by the Clean Water Act to jurisdiction over only actual discharges to navigable waters, not potential discharges,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “We are pleased that the federal courts have again reined in EPA’s unlawful regulation of livestock operations under the Clean Water Act. The court has affirmed that EPA, like other federal agencies, can only regulate where it has been authorized by Congress to do so.”

Idaho Legislature Considering Moratorium on Wind Development

Stoel Rives LLP

By Teresa Hill

Two bills were introduced in the Idaho legislature last week, both of which could significantly impact the wind industry in Idaho. The first, H250, extends a sales or use tax rebate available to purchasers of qualifying machinery and equipment used in generating electricity from renewable resources. The rebate is currently set to expire as of July 1, 2011. Under the proposed legislation, the rebate would be extended for such purchases but only if the purchaser achieves commercial operation by December 31, 2014.

The second bill, H265, would impose a moratorium on the construction of new wind projects in Idaho for two years and directs the Interim Energy Committee to meet during that time and report on various wind related issues, including the impact of wind on power rates and the ability of utilities to integrate wind into their systems. The relevant moratorium language is excerpted below. Although initial reports of the bill stated that it would not apply to wind projects that are already under construction or have permits, that is not how the legislation is written. As proposed, it prohibits municipalities, counties and state agencies from “granting approval or issuing any new licenses or permits for the construction or operation of wind turbines that exceed one hundred (100) feet in height and have a nameplate capacity that exceeds one hundred (100) kilowatts.” A plain reading of this language means that a fully developed and “almost” fully permitted project with wind turbines already delivered on-site could be subject to the moratorium because of the inability to obtain building or other ministerial permits, which some Idaho counties require as each individual turbine is constructed.

We’ll continue to monitor closely as the future of Idaho’s wind industry is debated by the legislature.

61-1802. MORATORIUM ON CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN INDUSTRIAL WIND FARMS AND WIND TURBINES FOR A TIME CERTAIN. (1) From the effective date of this act until July 1, 2013, municipalities, counties and state agencies are prohibited from granting approval or issuing any new licenses or permits for the construction or operation of wind turbines that exceed one hundred (100) feet in height and have a nameplate capacity that exceeds one hundred (100) kilowatts. Projects that have been approved and for which the statute of limitations for legal proceedings of the state of Idaho against the project expire without any legal action against the project shall be allowed to be constructed. Projects for which legal proceedings are pending shall not be allowed to be constructed until the legal proceedings are complete and a court of competent jurisdiction finds that construction may proceed.

Spiking gas prices forcing farmers to adapt
By Ching Lee
California Farm Bureau Federation,

Yuba County rice grower Paul Baggett says he is feeling the sting of rising diesel prices. Baggett farms 2,000 acres and his operation consumes about 80,000 gallons of fuel annually.

As oil prices have soared in recent weeks due to rising tensions in the Middle East and fears of major supply disruptions, California farmers are bracing for a more difficult year with higher production costs that will erode farm income.

With fuel prices climbing even before the current spike, Yolo County farmer Gary Merwin said he decided to “drastically reduce” his irrigated crops because of the cost of diesel fuel to pump water.

Bipartisan Water Permitting Bill Out
- Helps cities and businesses deal with big fiscal impacts of having nation’s most stringent standards.
By John Ledger
Associated Oregon Industries

A bipartisan bill directing the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to minimize negative economic impacts when issuing variances in some water discharge permits has been introduced into the legislative hopper. Scores of Oregon industrial and municipal wastewater dischargers will need to obtain variances from the DEQ as the only way to meet Oregon’s proposed water quality standards, the toughest in the nation, and continue operation.

The proposed standards are the result of lawsuits and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements. They are so stringent as to be un-meetable without a DEQ variance for literally dozens of pollutants.

The variance process is expected to begin late this year or early next after the DEQ formally adopts, and the EPA approves, the new standards. Currently, details are unclear as to what new requirements will be inserted into variances. In some cases, the costs of expected additional conditions are estimated to run into the tens of millions of dollars.

By National Corn Growers Association

Chipotle’s newest campaign to make a buck once again serves up an attack on farmers with a phony newspaper filled with self-promotion and at least one glaring error. At the risk of repeating a negative, they significantly downplay the role of family farms in an attempt to perpetuate a make-believe distinction between “family farms” and so-called “factory farms.” Their non-sourced stat provides a much lower number than reality; according to the USDA, family farms of different sizes account for 98 percent of farms and 82 percent of production.

And it really is nice they offer a column called “Ask Chipotle” but they really should provide contact information so we can send in questions.

Three Imnaha Wolves Collared
BY Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife

ENTERPRISE, Ore.—Three additional wolves from the Imnaha Pack were collared by ODFW and its partners last weekend in Wallowa County. On Feb. 25 a gray yearling male was captured and collared with a GPS collar, a device that will automatically record its location and send the information to ODFW. Also on Feb. 25, a gray yearling female was captured and fitted with a radio collar, a device that requires biologists to search for it with a radio. The following day (Feb. 26), a gray 2-year-old male was fitted with a GPS collar.

All of the wolves collared were in good body condition according to Russ Morgan, ODFW wolf coordinator. Further, all three wolves’ collars were located following the capture, indicating the animals had moved from the capture site.