Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will apparently not ask state agencies to reopen their investigation into the killing of a female wolf Oct. 27 in Union County, despite concerns from several conservation groups.

Brian Scott, 38, of Clackamas, reported that he shot the wolf in self-defense while elk hunting in the Starkey Wildlife Management Unit west of La Grande. The wolf, he said, was charging at him. Wildlife advocates dispute his claim, pointing to the bullet’s trajectory and other discrepancies in the physical evidence.

A coalition of groups — 18 in all — wrote to Gov. Brown asking her to reopen the state’s investigation, In her reply, dated Dec. 1, Brown said she has confidence in the outcome after consulting with the Oregon State Police, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and Union County District Attorney’s Office.

“While Oregon is working toward wolf recovery, any wolf mortality is a serious concern that deserves a full and rigorous investigation,” Brown wrote.

Scott told investigators he feared for his life when he shot the wolf at a distance of 27 yards. He described seeing two animals flank behind him, while a third came running directly toward him.

The groups, however, argue that the bullet passed through the wolf’s shoulders, perhaps indicating it was standing broadside to Scott and not charging. Scott has said he cannot explain the trajectory, and does not know if the wolf veered sideways before he shot. The Union County District Attorney’s Office declined to press charges.

Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, said the group will continue to put pressure on the governor and agencies regarding wolf poaching investigations, and ensure those protections are taken seriously.

“We now have, I think by anyone’s standards, an epidemic of wolf poaching around the state,” Pedery said. “That’s a situation that should be deeply concerning for anyone who cares about wildlife in this state.”

In her letter, Gov. Brown reiterated that killing wolves is illegal everywhere in Oregon, and remains a federal crime west of highways 395, 78 and 95.

“Too many wolves have been found shot in Oregon where the shooters have not been identified,” she wrote. “Oregon State Police is appropriately investigating those cases, supporting their federal counterparts, identifying poachers and ready to assist in their prosecution.”

ODFW is also in the process of revising its Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which Brown said will “keep wolves on the path to recovery across the entire state, focus on efforts to reduce wolf-livestock conflict rather than merely responding to it, and incorporate the best current science into its management practices.” Oregon had 112 confirmed wolves as of the end of 2016. An updated 2017 population report is expected in March.

Organic blueberry growers can improve their bottom line by planting in raised beds, using a plastic weed mat for mulching and lower rates of fertilizer, according to research from Oregon State University.

Bernadine Strik, OSU berry crops professor, led a 10-year study to determine best management practices for organic blueberries, which was recently published in the journal HortScience.

More than half of all organic blueberries grown in the U.S. come from Oregon and Washington, Strik said. The Oregon Blueberry Commission initially funded her project in 2006, looking for additional support in organic production.

“The market is very strong for organic fruit specifically from the Pacific Northwest,” Strik said. “We have such a good climate for growing organic blueberries.”

At the time, just 2 percent of the region’s blueberries were certified organic. The total now is as high as 20 percent, making the Northwest the largest producer of organic blueberries in the world.

“I don’t see that changing,” Strik said. “I think that’s a real advantage to our region.”

Strik conducted her study at the university’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, planting two varieties of blueberries — Duke, an early season berry, and Liberty, which ripens later in the year.

Strik also had the 1-acre field certified by Oregon Tilth, ensuring she would face the same challenges as organic growers with record keeping and inspection.

“This was my first certified organic study,” Strik said. “And it’s still the only certified organic blueberry research trial in the world.”

Over the course of a decade, Strik found that Liberty blueberries yielded 22 percent higher in raised beds versus flat ground, which has proven to be a no-brainer move for organic and conventional growers alike.

As for weed control, Strik looked at a few different options for organic growers, including sawdust mulch, yard debris topped with sawdust and a black plastic weed mat.

Though it did carry some drawbacks, such as increased soil temperature and field mice, the mat proved to be the lowest cost option. Sawdust mulch cost nearly twice as much, Strik said, and almost three times as much for the sawdust and yard debris combination.

“The higher cost was because there were more weeds that needed to be pulled,” Strik said.

Finally, the study looked at organic fertilizers, which can cost 10 to 20 times as much as conventional products. Strik applied both a feather meal and liquid fish at rates ranging from 25 to 65 pounds per acre on the low end, and 50 to 125 pounds per acre on the high end.

Liberty berries showed little difference between the low and high rates of fertilizer, Strik said, indicating a huge cost savings to organic growers. Duke berries, meanwhile, fared best with higher levels of cheaper feather meal, and were especially sensitive to liquid fish. Strik suspects that has to do with higher levels of potassium.

Bryan Ostlund, administrator of the Oregon Blueberry Commission, said growers are seeing more acreage being planted or converted to organic statewide, and Strik’s research gives growers the tools they need to be successful.

“It’s a highly competitive market,” Ostlund said. “Growers are always asking questions, trying to increase those yields.”

The rezoning effort sets up a potentially major shift in how Oregon — known for its conservative land use laws — manages a growing population.

Some rural counties complain that Oregon’s laws that protect farms and forest lands are too restrictive. If this plan in Douglas County moves forward, it could set a precedent for counties that want to build on land currently set aside for farming.

“What we are trying to do is identify a way to provide a little more flexibility to more rural jurisdictions to allow land that is of low or no value to commercial farming or forestry to be used in an alternative method,” said Douglas County Planning Director Keith Cubic. 

The county analyzed the acres in question and concluded that they’re not suitable for most types of farming.

“We looked at soils, viticultural (grazing) boundaries,” Cubic said. “All of those factors were put together before they were disqualifying features.”

That’s a claim disputed by Greg Holmes, food systems programs director for 1,000 Friends Of Oregon.

“This is the type of land where our cattle and hay production happens, where our wine grapes happen, and other high-value crops to the state of Oregon happen,” Holmes said. He pointed out there’s land with similar soil types and characteristics across the state. 

“It may be relatively less productive than some other lands, but if we were to suddenly take this type of land and call it non-resource land anymore and then multiply that across all the counties across the state ... we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural lands,” Holmes said.  

Supporters and opponents of the proposal both say it could set a precedent for land use in rural counties. And other counties are watching this process carefully.

County leaders from Deschutes and Jefferson counties in central Oregon submitted letters of support for the idea to Douglas County leaders.  

“Deschutes County is interested in pursuing a similar program,” reads the letter signed by the county’s three commissioners. “We recognize that a subset of resource lands are not accurately designated in our region as well.” 

The plan has also attracted the attention of Oregon’s Department of Land Conservation and Development. The agency flagged a number of concerns with the proposal in a letter to Douglas County. 

Douglas County commissioners could approve the plan this week. But they may also delay the decision to allow for more public input.

If the initial plan is approved by the commissioners, the idea would still need to go through a legislative process or a quasi-judicial process before the land could actually be rezoned, Cubic said. While he expressed support for Oregon’s land-use system, he believes it could be more flexible. 

“There’s land that’s neither farm nor forest that is not sufficiently addressed by the statewide planning program,” Cubic said.  “So our focus is first on those lands.”

The Idaho, Oregon and Washington wheat commissions are helping pay for a new technician to help promote the use of Northwest wheat in South America.

Each commission will provide $30,000 per year to U.S. Wheat Associates for five years.

Long-term demand on that continent could potentially double the current demand for Northwest wheat, said Mike Miller, president of U.S. Wheat Associates and a Ritzville, Wash., farmer. He pointed to “huge” demand in Brazil and potential demand in Chile, Colombia and Peru.

“The South American market has turned into as big a market now as the Pacific Rim-Asian market,” said Darren Padget, board member of the Oregon Wheat Commission and a Sherman County farmer. Asia buys about 43 percent of U.S. exports, he said, and South and Central America about equal that percentage.

South American customers who have visited the U.S. say they need a technician to determine how to best use wheat from the U.S., and the U.S. needs to have a presence, Miller said.

The goal is to increase sales for all classes of U.S. wheat and grow the market presence.

Padget said the commissions heard about the need for a technician during a U.S. Wheat global staff meeting in Colorado last May.

The three state commissions look for projects on which they can cooperate, Padget said.

Having somebody on site is important if you’ve got a problem, he said. It could give U.S. wheat an advantage over wheat from such nations as Australia and Canada.

U.S. Wheat is looking for the right fit for the position. The job description is not completely set, Padget said.

“They’re trying not to put themselves in a box too much if the right person comes along,” he said.

Padget hopes to have a technician in place by the Latin American Wheat Buyers Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July.

U.S. Wheat will employ the technician and the commissions will provide support for travel, equipment and other needs, he said.

“I’m kind of excited about it — it’s a great project the three states are wholeheartedly behind,” he said. “I think it’s going to do a lot of good and it’s a good use of grower dollars.”

A legal dispute has erupted over replacing dwellings on farmland in Oregon due to an ambiguously written provision of the state’s land use laws.

The specifics of the controversy are convoluted, but it centers on whether Oregon law allows landowners in “exclusive farm use” zones to rebuild dwellings that were torn down or destroyed by a natural disaster many years or even decades ago.

Landwatch Lane County, a farmland preservation group, believes that rebuilding after such a long interval is prohibited and goes against the intent of the Oregon Legislature.

If such delayed replacements were permitted, it would result in “non-conforming uses plastered all over EFU land,” said Lauri Segel-Vaccher, the group’s legal analyst.

“Are you really going to have a commercial farm and forest economy, or are you converting farm and forest land into residential uses?” she said.

Kay King, a landowner near Florence, Ore., wants to rebuild three dwellings on 100 acres of farmland that were removed more than 20 years ago.

Rebuilding the old homes will allow for the next generation of farmers to live on the land, but it’s unlikely to have widespread impacts, said Mike Gelardi, King’s attorney.

“I think that’s overblown,” Gelardi said.

The matter has ended up before the Oregon Court of Appeals, which is scheduled to hold oral arguments in the case on Jan. 9.

In 2013, Oregon lawmakers passed a bill that made it easier for farmers to replace buildings that had become dilapidated, or that had been destroyed or demolished.

The law basically stated that dwellings on farmland could be replaced as long as they once had modern amenities, such as indoor plumbing, electricity and heat. Previously, dwellings could only be replaced if they currently had those features.

Another requirement pertained to whether property taxes had been paid on the property, and how recently. This awkwardly-worded provision is at the heart of the legal dispute.

A permitting authority can allow replacement dwellings as long as they were subject to property taxes for the lesser of:

“A) The previous five property tax years unless the value of the dwelling was eliminated as a result of the destruction, or demolition in the case of restoration, of the dwelling; or

(B) From the time when the dwelling was erected upon or affixed to the land and became subject to assessment as described in ORS 307.010 unless the value of the dwelling was eliminated as a result of the destruction, or demolition in the case of restoration, of the dwelling.”

The government of Lane County interpreted this passage to mean that dwellings can be rebuilt at any time after they were eliminated, regardless of the five-year property tax rule.

After the county approved King’s application to rebuild the three homes, Landwatch Lane County objected to the decision before Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA.

The board rejected the county’s interpretation and overturned the dwelling approval, rejecting the concept that demolished or destroyed homes could be rebuilt after an indefinite period of time.

The five-year period was established as a maximum “look-back,” according to LUBA. In other words, dwellings could only be rebuilt if they were subject to property taxes within the past five years until they were destroyed or demolished within that time window. The provision also applied to homes that were built and taxed less than five years before they had to be replaced.

King has challenged this decision before the Oregon Court of Appeals, arguing the ruling ignores the state government’s own interpretation of the law.

In regulations that enacted the law, the Land Conservation and Development Commission stated that destroyed or demolished homes can be rebuilt “notwithstanding” the five-year property tax requirement, said Gelardi, the landowner’s attorney.

“It’s certainly confusingly worded in the statute, but that’s the intent,” he said.

Oregon Women for Agriculture brought home several prestigious awards from this year’s American Agri-Women convention in Minneapolis.

The Oregon organization was honored with first place for having the most new members and second place for the most members overall.

In addition, three members of the Oregon affiliate — Kristi Miller, Mallory Phelan and Arwen McGilvra — were honored for their part in the Ag Day 365 campaign, a yearlong advocacy initiative started by American Agri-Women during the 2016 National Convention and formally kicked off at National Ag Day in Washington, D.C.

The “Ag Day is Every Day” campaign, or #AgDay365, is inspired by and builds on the important connections made between the public and farm and ranch producers on National Ag Day, which is celebrated in March and organized by the Agriculture Council of America.

McGilvra was also honored with the organization’s president’s award along with Lynn Woolf of Kansas. President Doris Mold, of Minnesota, remarked on the great amount of work McGilvra and Woolf did for the all-volunteer organization during the year, and thanked them for being “the wind beneath her wings,” according to an organization press release.

American Agri-Women is the nation’s largest coalition of farm, ranch and agri-business women. American Agri-Women began in 1974 with members of Oregon Women for Agriculture and women from three other states joining together to create a national organization to represent women involved in agriculture and agri-business.

American Agri-Women promotes the national security through a safe and reliable food, fiber and mineral supply. Since 1974, AAW members have worked together to educate consumers, advocate for agriculture and offer networking and professional development opportunities. For more information or to join, visit AmericanAgriWomen.org. Find AAW on social media at: facebook.com/AgriWomen and twitter.com/Women4Ag.

Controversy over an electrical transmission line in Oregon’s Tillamook County is expected to come to a head in 2018 as the developer pursues three key permits.

The 8.6-mile line would cross farmland and forestland, drawing opposition from landowners in its path who worry about impediments to agriculture and logging.

Opponents argue that a new transmission line between Tillamook and Oceanside isn’t justified by actual electricity demand, but may instead be intended as a connection to future wave power or offshore wind energy projects.

The Tillamook Public Utility District, the project’s developer, claims the transmission line is necessary to improve the reliability of the electrical grid and denies it’s motivated by renewable energy speculation.

Adding to the tension is the utility’s planned use of eminent domain to obtain easements along the transmission line’s route.

“It’s really angering people in the Tillamook area, as it should,” said Cameron La Follette, executive director of the Oregon Coast Alliance conservation group.

To begin construction, the utility district would need to obtain a conditional use permit from Tillamook County, a fill-removal permit from the Department of State Lands and eminent domain authority from the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

Those three permits are pending and are expected to undergo public comment in the coming year.

The Oregon Farm Bureau and Oregon Dairy Farmers Association have both objected to the project.

For dairy farmers affected by the line, it’s problematic for multiple reasons, said Kurt Mizee, whose family owns Tilla-Bay Farms.

“Stray voltage,” which occurs when electricity essentially leaks into the ground, is one concern, he said.

The phenomenon is known to reduce milk production among dairy cows and harm their health.

The transmission line would also prevent aerial pesticide spraying over certain fields and its construction would be disruptive to grazing and silage harvesting, said Mizee.

A vibratory hammer will be used to install the transmission tower foundations, which is also disturbing to cattle due to the region’s soft, spongy soil, he said.

“They’ve offered us almost nothing as far as compensation for a pretty big impact,” said Mizee.

Forestland will also be negatively affected by the transmission line, which will require trees to be cleared along a right-of-way, said La Follette.

A 115-kilovolt transmission line would usually require a 100-foot wide right-of-way, but in this case, it may be narrower under certain circumstances, according to the Tillamook Public Utility District.

Landowners are also concerned about the health impacts to themselves and their livestock from being exposed to electromagnetic emissions, said La Follette.

In 2008, the Tillamook Public Utility District agreed to find possible connection points for a off-shore wind energy project to deliver electricity to its grid.

While that memorandum of agreement has since expired, it shows the utility district is at least open to the possibility of offshore renewable energy, La Follette said.

Todd Simmons, the utility district’s general manager, said the agreement with a developer was intended to allow the region to anticipate and plan for offshore energy.

However, the utility district doesn’t now have any plans to connect to such offshore projects, Simmons said.

Currently, a single distribution line serves about 3,000 properties in the Oceanside area, which is three times more prone to outages than other areas on the utility district’s grid, he said.

“When that line goes out, everybody’s out of power until we make that repair,” Simmons said. “We’re vulnerable with that one line.”

The distribution line is also at 90-95 percent electrical load capacity, so more capacity is needed to accommodate Oceanside’s eventual growth, he said.

Constructing a second distribution line — which has a smaller footprint than a transmission line — wouldn’t make sense because it could still be affected by falling trees or car collisions, he said.

In that situation, there would only be a single connection to Oceanside, which would result in brownouts when the community’s electricity needs eventually become greater than its load capacity, Simmons said. The transmission line, by comparison, would still be able to fully serve the community if the distribution line had to be repaired.

Simmons said the Centers for Disease Control have not found transmission lines to cause adverse health effects, and stray voltage won’t be an issue.

The electric pressure on a transmission line is so strong that it’s unlikely to leak electricity, unlike distribution lines, which have lower electrical pressure, he said.

A company that grows, packs and ships potatoes in Oregon’s Klamath basin has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which protects businesses from creditors seizing collateral while they restructure debt.

In its bankruptcy filing, Wong Potatoes of Klamath Falls reports owing between $1 million and $10 million to fewer than 100 creditors. It reported assets between $1 million and $10 million.

Dan Chin, the company’s president, has also filed for bankruptcy with his wife but was out of the office and wasn’t available for comment.

The company, which was founded in 1930, produces 16 varieties of organic potatoes as well as several cultivars of conventional potatoes on nearly 5,000 acres. It employs between 50 and 100 workers, depending on season.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas Renn has approved a motion for Wong Potatoes to use cash collateral and a meeting of creditors has been scheduled for Jan. 10 in Eugene, Ore.

SALEM, Ore. — Mac Stewart, a fourth-generation Oregon sheep grower and full-time shepherd for Footrot Flats in Albany, was elected president of the Oregon Sheep Growers Association during the organization’s annual convention.

Elected with him were president-elect Kip Krebs, Ione, and second vice presidents Glen Krebs, Pendleton, and Josh Sutch, Glide. Vice presidents continuing terms include Mike Cowdrey, Scio; Cody Wood, Harrisburg; Morgan McKenzie, Langlois; and Woody Babcock, Corvallis. Brian Dietrich, Scio, will continue as treasure.

Stewart, a long-time OSGA member, was satisfied with the results of this year’s convention, held jointly with the Oregon Forage and Grassland Council.

“Everyone gets to choose his or her highlights, but I thought the interactive video conference with Cody Hiemke from Wisconsin and Dave Pratt’s well-attended Ranching for Profit workshop were great opportunities,” he said.

“Since most of us spend much of our time going out alone with no one to ask questions of and no one to blame, it is worth a lot to spend at least one weekend a year with the people who feel that doing what we do is worthwhile,” he said.

“From a commercial sheep grower’s standpoint, I think OSGA is important,” Stewart said. “There are not that many opportunities outside of the annual convention where growers, processors and industry leaders can all learn, socialize and network.”

Stewart, who holds a bachelor of science in animal science from Oklahoma State University, was born and raised in Clatskanie, Ore. He has been involved in the sheep industry, from the show ring to managing larger commercial ewe and lamb operations. His day-to-day activities in Albany include fencing, flock management and flock health.

A resident of Salem, Stewart said he was surprised at the feeling of nostalgia that came over him when he was presented with the president’s ceremonial shepherd crook.

“To see all those names inscribed on copper plates along the stem of the crook was a moving experience for me,” Stewart said. “OSGA has been around since 1895. I knew and still know a lot of those people whose names appear there and I know the stories of many whom I’ve never met.

“It’s not an easy time in the sheep business right now and I’m not sure the industry will ever reach its former glory, but Oregon has a rich history in the sheep industry. However, as yet another annual convention with my fellow industry people ended, I felt invigorated and ready to do my part — ready to go home, get out and get back to work.”

For more information about membership in OSGA, visit www.sheeporegon.com or call OSGA 503-364-5462.

Reports of Seneca Valley Virus are on the rise in Oregon swine, and though the virus itself is relatively harmless, it is the resemblance to a much more pernicious foreign disease that has animal health officials on guard.

Brad LeaMaster, state veterinarian for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, said more than 50 cases of Seneca Valley Virus have been recorded since September, all from pigs imported to a slaughterhouse near Klamath Falls.

Animals infected by the virus may develop telltale lesions on their feet and snouts, but otherwise heal within a few days, LeaMaster said. The symptoms, however, look exactly like the highly contagious and sometimes fatal foot-and-mouth disease, which could have a devastating effect on the livestock industry.

“For each case, every time we have an animal that breaks with this, then we have to investigate,” LeaMaster said. “Really, how do we know? What we don’t want is to become complacent.”

Foot-and-mouth disease is widespread around the world, but has not been documented in the U.S. since 1929. Ironically, it is in the same family of viruses as Seneca Valley Virus, which makes differentiating the two a challenge.

“We want to be diligent and encourage producers, as well as veterinarians, to call us right away if they see the vesicular lesions,” LeaMaster said. “We’ll send someone out to do the laboratory testing immediately to determine if it’s Seneca Valley Virus and rule out foot-and-mouth disease.”

Seneca Valley Virus was first isolated by scientists in 2002, but it wasn’t until 2015 when cases began to gain attention in Oregon, LeaMaster said.

“It’s one of those emerging-type diseases,” he said. “It’s not a big deal in terms of the disease it causes initially.”

Foot-and-mouth disease, however, is a very big deal. As a field veterinarian for ODA in 2001, LeaMaster experienced firsthand a large outbreak of the disease in the United Kingdom, which resulted in a number of animals needing to be slaughtered in order to contain its spread.

LeaMaster said foot-and-mouth is one of the most contagious diseases on the planet, affecting cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, cattle, sheep and goats. It can kill young animals, while adults never regain their peak production.

“That’s why it would be so devastating to have an outbreak in our country,” LeaMaster said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, has sent a veterinarian to assist ODA in testing pigs for Seneca Valley Virus at the slaughter facility in Klamath Falls. Meanwhile, LeaMaster is encouraging producers to call his office at 503-986-4680 if they believe they have spotted any symptoms in their own livestock.

“The danger is ignoring an animal with vesicular lesions,” he said. “This would be the perfect time for a (foot-and-mouth disease) outbreak to come here, if we become complacent.”

YAKIMA, Wash. — The Northwest Horticultural Council — representing tree fruit growers and shippers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho on national and international issues — soon will be back up to full staff.

Barbara Madden, who retired in October as an acting chief of risk assessment in the pesticide division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will become NHC’s vice president of scientific affairs on Jan. 15. She is moving from Arlington, Va., to Yakima.

Anne Morrell, formerly general manager of BZ Blackrock, an orchard in Moxee, became NHC’s technical issues manager in October.

Mark Powers, who succeeded Chris Schlect as president of NHC last March, said he’s pleased to have both on staff, that there’s no shortage of issues for them to work on and that it brings NHC back up to full staff.

Kate Woods is vice president. Mariosol Oviedo is regulatory information specialist and Roberta Lucas is office manager.

Madden was at EPA 26 years, starting as a biologist in the registration division. Her work has included food safety evaluations, compliance with laws and regulatory approval for crop protection production.

“She understands how the agency functions and how to navigate the regulatory process. She has a keen understanding of international compliance issues on Minimum Residue Levels. Our industry exports 30 percent of its fruit so we increasingly have to make sure we are in compliance,” Powers said.

“How we do that and advocate for growers internationally and with our government will be a key part of her job,” he said.

Madden succeeds Mike Willett, who left NHC two years ago to become manager of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission.

Morrell succeeds Laura Grunenfelder, who joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Yakima.

Morrell received her bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics from the University of California-Davis in 1988, her master’s degree in plant science from California State University-Fresno in 1991 and her doctorate in horticulture from Washington State University in 1995.

Morrell held research and teaching positions at WSU and Yakima Valley Community College from 1995 to 2004. She was field stock manager at Northwest Horticulture, an ornamental nursery in Mabton, from 2004 to 2010. She was a horticulturist advising buyers for Walmart Global Food Sourcing in Yakima from 2010 to 2011. She was food safety manager at E.W. Brandt & Sons, a Wapato tree fruit company, from 2011 to 2012 and was food safety manager at Hansen Fruit Co., Yakima, from 2012 to 2017. She was general manager of BZ Blackrock from May to October.

“Working at NHC is my dream job. I feel like this is the job I was meant to have,” Morrell said.

She said she will focus on invasive pests and pesticides as they relate to federal regulation and international trade, interacting with the industry in the Northwest while Madden works with agencies in Washington, D.C.

Currently, Morrell is working with Willett, WSU and UC-Davis on a new model to more accurately estimate pesticide spray drift.

“The EPA assumes all orchard applications from airblast sprayers are made on young, dormant orchards. Small trees with no leaves. But most applications are made in orchards when leaves are on. We’re making a more realistic model to measure risk,” she said.

To feed the world’s growing appetite for french fries, Lamb Weston announced Thursday it will build a new, state-of-the-art processing line at its Hermiston facility on Westland Road.

The $250 million expansion will add capacity for another 300 million pounds of fries per year, while also creating approximately 170 full-time jobs, according to the company.

Tom Werner, president and CEO of Lamb Weston, said demand for french fries around the world has challenged the industry’s capacity to keep up in recent years.

“This investment in a new french fry processing line in the Columbia Basin reflects Lamb Weston’s continued commitment to support our strategic partners as they continue to grow their businesses in North America and abroad,” Werner said.

Elsewhere around the basin, Lamb Weston finished a similar $200 million expansion at its french fry factory in Richland, Wash., which opened in October.

The company also spent $200 million to expand its Boardman facilities at the Port of Morrow in 2014. All potatoes are sourced from local farms.

Shelby Stoolman, spokeswoman for Lamb Weston, said the Hermiston facility was established in 1972 and has 450 employees. The new line is expected to be up and running by January 2019, supporting growth in North America and overseas exports to Asia.

“It’s really to keep up with demand,” Stoolman said.

Mark Morgan, Hermiston assistant city manager, said the project is the largest ever investment in the Greater Hermiston Enterprise Zone, both in terms of capital investment and annual payroll.

“We’re very happy that Lamb Weston is choosing to make this investment in the Hermiston area,” Morgan said. “This is an advanced operation, so these are not your run-of-the-mill processing jobs. We anticipate these full time jobs to pay an average of at least $18 per hour, plus benefits.”

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown also approved an award from the state’s Strategic Reserve Fund to move the project forward, which she said is part of her focus to boost the economy statewide.

“In addition to supporting our rural economies and booming agriculture industry, this investment provides critical workforce training opportunities in well-paying jobs in Eastern Oregon,” Brown said.

Nathan Buehler, spokesman for Business Oregon, said the state is indeed finalizing the contract on a half-million dollar loan to Lamb Weston. That loan will include requirements for job creation, workforce training and building a wastewater system at the site.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A mistrial marked a major step this week in favor of a family of ranchers accused of leading armed standoffs in two states to oppose U.S. control of vast stretches of land in the American West.

But states’ rights activist Cliven Bundy and his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy are not clear of legal troubles and say they are not gearing up for another fight in a decades-long dispute with the government over management of public lands.

The Bundys and Montana militia leader Ryan Payne are charged with conspiracy, assault and threats over an armed confrontation with federal agents who were rounding up of Bundy cattle on public land in 2014.

Here is what is expected next in the case:

Cliven Bundy, 71, remained behind bars as a protest Thursday, a day after Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial. She set a Jan. 8 hearing to decide whether charges should be dismissed outright.

Bundy had refused Navarro’s Nov. 30 offer to be freed to house arrest during the trial, with GPS monitoring and other restrictions. His sons and Payne took the deal, but the elder Bundy is holding out on principle until he is completely free, his lawyer and family members say.

Attorney Bret Whipple asked Wednesday for federal detention officials to take another look at his client’s file and submitted court documents seeking Bundy’s release without conditions. A hearing wasn’t immediately set.

Cliven Bundy has been behind bars since Feb. 10, 2016. He was arrested at Portland International Airport in Oregon after flying to visit his sons in jail.

Ryan and Ammon Bundy had led an armed takeover of a national wildlife refuge in early 2016 to demand the government turn over public land to local control. They were arrested during a traffic stop outside the refuge that ended with police fatally shooting a spokesman for the occupation. They were later acquitted of all charges.

Cliven Bundy was not charged in the Oregon standoff. Whipple said his client has been jailed for more than 22 months without being convicted of any crime in the Nevada standoff near his ranch.

Navarro found prosecutors violated the four defendants’ due process rights by failing to turn over records that could help the defense and denying that federal authorities had positioned snipers and surveillance cameras on hilltops around the Bundy ranch.

The judge cited 3,300 pages of previously undisclosed FBI and Bureau of Land Management records relating to the standoff and the abandoned roundup of Bundy cattle that should have been provided to defense attorneys ahead of the November trial.

Navarro also ordered a review and the refiling of many key documents that were submitted under seal. Media organizations including The Associated Press had objected to the secrecy.

The judge scheduled the hearing next month to give prosecutors and defense teams time to submit written arguments about whether the case should be dismissed.

“A fair trial at this point is impossible with this jury,” the judge declared Wednesday. But “the court is not determining or making a finding (that) the defendants are in fact not guilty.”

She also set a new trial date, Feb. 26. Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre didn’t immediately say whether he would seek to retry the case.

U.S. Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said in an email Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has personally ordered a review of the case to decide what to do next.

With their legal fate unresolved, one of the two eldest Bundy brothers said they were not immediately looking for another battle to protest federal land policies.

Ryan Bundy, who has been representing himself at trial, said during a brief interview that others could take up the fight.

“We only have what rights we’re willing to fight for. Why don’t others start fighting for freedom?” he asked. “It’s not only our fight. People who want freedom should take up the battle and not leave it up to someone else.”

Bundy said he would “follow the spirit of the Lord” and that he didn’t know what that would be.

In a humorous video viewed more than 300,000 times on Facebook, a Christmas tree grower named Mark ridicules his own lack of social media skills.

Bantering with his daughter in a field of growing trees, Mark repeatedly mistakes the names of several popular social media applications: “Face Face” instead of Facebook, “Snaptalk” instead of Snapchat, “Tweezer” instead of Twitter.

The video concludes with a positive message, as Mark tells the viewers, “Forget all that. Get your family together, head out and pick a real Christmas tree!”

The light-hearted video also illustrates a real-life dilemma for the Christmas Tree Promotion Board, which produced the video as part of its new social media-driven promotional campaign, “It’s Christmas. Keep It Real.”

The board was launched by USDA in 2015 at the request of farmers who wanted to raise funds for industry promotions and research with a “checkoff” fee of 15 cents per tree, generating roughly $1.8 million a year.

But unlike the young consumers who are targeted by its promotional campaigns, some farmers who pay for the program are indifferent to social media. This year, the board invested $1.1 million in promotions.

“All these social media things they’re doing, I don’t have a clue,” said Bob Schaefer, manager of Noble Mountain Tree Farm near Salem, Ore.

The question is whether farmers will be supportive of continuing to pay for a promotional strategy that some may find confusing or unfamiliar. The answer will be provided next year, when Christmas tree farmers across the U.S. will vote whether to retain the program.

Despite his apathy toward social media, Schaefer said he recognizes the program’s value because the Millennial generation — people born between 1978 and 1998 — consumes information differently.

“They don’t read newspapers or watch TV,” he said.

Retailers have told Schaefer the promotional campaign is effective, which is important if real Christmas trees are to remain a viable retail item, he said.

“If they can’t sell the trees, it’s going to trickle down to the farmer,” Schaefer said. “They’ve got to get a return on their investment.”

Christmas trees are grown by about 3,400 U.S. farmers on 178,000 acres, generating roughly $367 million in annual sales, according to USDA data from 2014, the most recent year available.

Generally, it appears that farmers who are part of the Christmas tree industry support the checkoff and are excited to see their crop promoted, said Tim O’Connor, the board’s executive director.

However, there is a small contingent of farmers who happen to grow Christmas trees but don’t see the crop as their main specialty and may not care about paying for promotions, he said.

Whether these less-invested growers will favor continuing the program — and how much they will influence the referendum — will remain a mystery until the votes are tallied, since the board doesn’t plan to devote money to conduct polling, O’Connor said.

Checkoff fees are tax-deductible as business expenses.

In the board’s early days, some older farmers didn’t understand the social media emphasis of the promotional campaign, but they’ve since warmed to the concept, said Phil Hunter, president of the Pacific Northwest Christmas Tree Association and a grower near Port Orchard, Wash.

“As an industry, I think we’d be foolish not to pass the referendum,” he said.

A couple hundred growers don’t use email, so the board must make a special effort to keep them in the loop about promotions, said Betty Malone, a farmer near Philomath, Ore., who spearheaded the effort to start a checkoff.

The program will do more outreach through traditional mail, in case digital communications aren’t reaching the decision-makers at a farm, she said.

“Where I get my information is not where my kids get their information,” Malone said.

Regardless of the potential generational disconnect over social media, some growers object to the checkoff for philosophical reasons.

Robert Brown, a Christmas tree grower in New York, said he’s comfortable with promoting his own business over social media but doesn’t like the idea of a mandatory program.

“To me, it’s just another form of government: Let’s tax the little people,” Brown said. “They mean well. I’m just not sure it’s something I want to be involved with, but I’m stuck with it.”

His sentiment is echoed by Edward Steigerwaldt, a Wisconsin tree producer, who doesn’t see the purpose of spending on promotions when there’s a shortage of Christmas trees.

Several years ago, growers cut back on planting trees after overproduction put prices in a slump and forced some out of the industry. The pendulum has now swung the other way, with tight supplies bringing up prices. Wholesale prices to growers are in the range of $17 per tree for Douglas firs, up from about $10 during the slump, while Noble firs are selling for about $30 per tree, up from about $18.

It’s unlikely the industry will see another major surplus soon, particularly since farmers are getting older and leaving the business while younger people are reluctant to enter it, Steigerwaldt said.

“There are so many people who don’t want to do this type of work,” he said.

While Steigerwaldt believes the checkoff was created at the behest of “big growers,” a major Christmas tree producer shares his lack of enthusiasm.

Holiday Tree Farms, a company based in Corvallis, Ore., that sells up to 1 million trees a year, is willing to go along with the program but doesn’t see a direct benefit, said Greg Rondeau, its sales manager.

The firm sees more value in working directly with its chain store customers, which can afford to pay for a national television advertising blitz, he said.

“It’d be difficult for the checkoff to come up with that kind of money,” Rondeau said.

Farmers who support the program see such arguments as short-sighted.

Promoting the Christmas tree industry as a whole — rather than farmers promoting themselves individually — is necessary to keep the crop relevant in consumers’ minds, according to checkoff supporters.

A sustained promotional campaign is the best way to accomplish that goal, said Jim Rockis, the board’s chairman and a West Virginia farmer.

“Changing a mindset takes time,” Rockis said. “You’re not going to do this overnight.”

Aside from promotions, the checkoff also raises funds for agronomic research across several regions, he said.

The program is investing about $300,000 with eight universities, which will test new tree species, study disease problems and seek new slug control methods, among other projects.

Unless growers are willing to pay for the studies, they may simply never be done, Rockis said. “A lot of funding for extension and land grant universities, especially for minor crops like Christmas trees, is no longer available.”

Farmers should also remember that they’re competing with rivals who have deep pockets: Artificial tree manufacturers and marketers, said O’Connor, the board’s executive director.

“We need to go toe-to-toe with them as best as we can,” he said.

Consumer research conducted by the board found that Christmas tree growers face serious obstacles in winning over Millennial consumers, the next generation to form families, O’Connor said.

“This is really a critical factor for the industry to understand,” he said.

One serious misconception is that artificial trees are environmentally superior to real trees because they’re not chopped down.

Most Millennials hold this view, not understanding that Christmas trees are specifically planted to be harvested as a farm crop, similar to Halloween pumpkins, O’Connor said.

Only about 32 percent of Millennials grew up celebrating Christmas with a real tree every year, compared to 57 percent for the baby boomer generation, the board’s research found.

People who grow up with artificial trees are more likely to buy them when they form families, O’Connor said. “That’s the experience they had as a kid.”

To counter these forces, the promotional campaign focuses on three core messages.

The first is that real trees are better for the environment because they absorb carbon and release oxygen while they grow, then can be recycled or mulched instead of spending thousands of years in a landfill.

The second is that choosing a real tree is a fun family experience that people will cherish and remember for years. It’s also a way to connect directly with agriculture, which Millennials desire.

The third is that real trees create business for American farmers, as opposed to overseas manufacturers who rely on petroleum-based plastics.

Due to consumer research and a strong public response, the board decided on a social media-heavy campaign that focuses on about 30 videos created by Concept Farm, an advertising agency in New York City.

In its advertisements, the program must be careful not to be derogatory toward artificial trees, which is prohibited by USDA, O’Connor said.

For example, an advertisement comparing them to toilet brushes was rejected by the agency, he said.

On the other hand, the program can discuss how artificial trees are manufactured and disposed of, O’Connor said. “We can deal with facts.”

USDA’s edict against negative campaigning even extends to the term “fake,” which the board can’t use in its promotions, said Malone, a farmer and board member.

“They think of it as a pejorative,” she said.

Although Facebook videos and posts are the “main hub” of the promotional campaign, the program is also using Instagram and Twitter.

Print, online and television reporters can pull information from the program’s media resources, such as a “myth-busting” infographic about Christmas trees.

The board is sponsoring Christmas tree lightings in multiple major cities and conducting a “satellite media tour” with several news stations, which will conduct remote interviews with a Christmas tree farmer.

Several lifestyle bloggers, who typically have a reach of a quarter-million readers, are being targeted as “social influencers” who can advise their followers on the benefits of real trees.

The 200,000th tree will be delivered to military families through the “Trees for Troops” program, which will be highlighted in promotions.

Throughout these different communication channels, the program’s three core messages are heavily emphasized.

“People should be proud of their decision to have a real tree,” said Malone.

PORTLAND — Two Democratic lawmakers have released details of a carbon “cap and invest” bill that their party has prioritized for approval during Oregon’s legislative session in February.

Modeled after a program in California, their proposal would effectively charge Oregon industry for emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The goal of the program is to encourage businesses to embrace technologies and practices that curb the release of greenhouse gases that warm the climate and to invest in projects that help the general population reduce their carbon footprint.

A similar bill in 2016 drew strong opposition from certain Oregon business groups, including Associated Oregon Industries, since merged into Oregon Business & Industry.

Since then, Democrats Sen. Michael Dembrow of Portland and Rep. Ken Helm of Beaverton, have assembled a series of work groups to address concerns from business and industry, environmentalists and advocates for minorities and residents of rural areas.

A bill summary released Wednesday outlines changes to the proposal that address some of those concerns.

“We have two competing needs: We want to reduce emissions, but we don’t want to put businesses out of business so their progress is light in the early years,” Dembrow said. “Heavy emitters that are at risk of competition from other states or countries that don’t have high standards they are going to be given allowances in early years to help them transition into the program. We want to keep it predictable and not have rate shocks.”

The bill is scheduled to be drafted by Jan. 8 and released to the public that same week. Some of the highlights of the changes are:

• About 20 percent of the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from carbon allowance sales would go toward projects only in rural areas, addressing a concern that a cap-and-invest law would largely benefit already-thriving urban centers, such as the Portland metro area.

• Some of the proceeds also could be used to pay for “carbon sequestration” on farms, which could involves changes in cover plants and a reducing soil disturbances.

• Rulemaking for the program will have legislative oversight. Some members of the business community resisted the idea of the Department of Environmental Quality having unilateral authority in rulemaking.

• Commissions and advisory groups on global warming would be consolidated into one advisory committee and one legislative committee.

Despite the changes, some business groups said they’re still opposed to the idea.

Jenny Dresler, director of state public policy at the Oregon Farm Bureau, is a member of a coalition campaigning against cap and invest, Oregonians for Balanced Climate Policy.

“Oregon has made tremendous progress toward reducing our carbon emissions and is now one of the cleanest economies in the country,” Dresler said. “Driving up gas and energy prices on consumers, farmers and employers — as a cap and trade bill will do — will only result in fewer jobs and more pressure on family budgets. There are better ways to fight climate change, and Oregon is already at the forefront of that effort.”

What’s the cap, and what’s the investment?

The cap limits the amount of carbon a business may emit to less than 25,000 tons of CO2 per year, beginning in 2021. Those that emit more than that amount — currently about 100 businesses in Oregon — would be required to buy market-priced allowances for the excess. The program essentially puts a “price” on emissions.

Meanwhile, the allowances would be sold at a North American auction and generate revenue that would then be invested in projects that slow climate change.

Supporters say the bill could generate hundreds of millions of dollars a year for those projects.

Investments could include rebates for electric vehicles, solar panels on homes or safety improvements on bicycle lanes, among other things, said Brad Reed of environmental advocacy group Renew Oregon.

“Oregonians really value where we live and making a cleaner economy. … Once those investments start to show, then people are going to understand how beneficial this program is going to be,” Reed said.

How much would it cost?

Cost estimates for starting the program have yet to be calculated. That process will begin once the bill is finished, Dembrow said.

The state will achieve some cost savings by participating in the same auction market as California and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, the senator said.

The program will drive up the cost of fuel and electricity. Electric rates could climb by about 1 to 3 percent, Dembrow said. It’s unclear how much fuel prices could increase.

A study by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality indicated the costs could have an inordinate effect on people in low-income and rural communities because they already spend a larger percent of their income on fuel.

Dembrow has proposed using another chunk of the program’s proceeds for utility payment assistance for low-income Oregonians.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A U.S. judge in Nevada declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case against a states’ rights figure, his two sons and another man accused of leading a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents during a cattle grazing dispute.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas dismissed a jury seated last month for the long-awaited trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and self-styled Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.

It is the latest in a string of failed prosecutions in Nevada and Oregon against those who have opposed federal control of vast swaths of land in the American West.

Jurors in Portland, Oregon, acquitted the two Bundy sons of taking over a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than a month in early 2016 amid calls for the U.S. government to turn over public land to local control.

In the Nevada case, Navarro faulted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over all evidence to defense attorneys, including records about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents during the standoff.

“The government is obligated to disclose all evidence that might be favorable” to the defense, the judge said.

The case stemmed from an armed confrontation that capped a decades-long dispute over Cliven Bundy’s refusal to pay grazing fees. The 71-year-old rancher says his family has grazed cattle for more than a century in the area and insists public land belongs to states, not the U.S. government.

Government agents began rounding up his animals. The four on trial were accused of enlisting armed gunmen to force government agents to abandon the effort.

“A mistrial is a very bad result for the government,” said Ian Bartrum, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who has followed the case closely.

Bartrum had cast the trial as a test of whether U.S. authorities could enforce their own land policy in Western states where the government owns or controls vast expanses.

“It looks even worse because it isn’t the sort of jury nullification we’ve seen before, but actual incompetence (or worse) by the prosecution,” Bartrum said in an email. “It certainly erodes a lot of confidence in the federal government’s motives.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre had no immediate answer about whether prosecutors would retry the case. If so, the Bundys and Payne still would face 15 felony charges including assault and threats against federal officers, firearms counts, obstruction and extortion.

Prosecutors also failed to win full convictions against others at the tense confrontation near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Six men who acknowledged carrying assault-style weapons faced a trial and a retrial. Two were acquitted, two were convicted of some charges and two are free after pleading guilty to misdemeanors to avoid a third trial. None was found guilty of a conspiracy charge.

In the case against the Bundys, the judge hinted last week that trouble was afoot. She sent the jury home to review sealed documents following closed-door hearings over complaints about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents during the standoff.

Jurors got a glimpse of the claims when Ryan Bundy, who represented himself, spoke at opening statements about seeing government snipers and surveillance cameras positioned on hilltops surrounding his family home in the days before armed supporters answered his family’s calls for help.

A whistleblower memo by a lead U.S. Bureau of Land Management investigator that was released last week alleges widespread bad judgment, bias and misconduct, as well as “likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff” in the days leading up to the standoff.

The memo said agents who planned and oversaw the cattle roundup mocked and displayed clear prejudice against the Bundys, their supporters and Mormons.

The investigator, Larry Wooten, said he was removed from the investigation last February after he complained to the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada.

The judge freed the Bundy sons and Payne to house arrest during the trial after nearly two years in jail. Cliven Bundy refused the judge’s offer, with his lawyer saying the patriarch was holding out for acquittal.

Three years after it was designated Oregon’s newest American Viticultural Area, Steve Robertson says big things are beginning to happen in The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater.

Robertson, owner of SJR Vineyard and Delmas Winery, was a key figure in establishing The Rocks District, which was approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in February 2015. He serves as president of the Rocks District Winegrowers, a nonprofit formed last summer to promote the unique landscape and wines within the district.

“We’ve been busy,” Robertson said. “There’s been quite a bit of progress made over the last couple of years now.”

It can take decades for a new AVA to gain acceptance in the wine world, Robertson said, though The Rocks District is already garnering recognition from some of the industry’s biggest names. Harvey Steiman, longtime editor at Wine Spectator magazine, recently described the district as “the most distinctive terroir in America” for its rugged, stony soils.

The wines themselves are also receiving acclaim, with 25 local wineries scoring 90-plus points out of 100 with Wine Spectator. Critics are especially impressed with the quality of Syrah varieties.

“When you can taste the difference, those markers are telling you there’s something special about that place on planet Earth,” Robertson said. “That’s a really remarkable thing. It’s limited. It’s rare. It’s distinctive.”

Robertson said there is evidence of wine grapes being grown in the area as far back as the early 1900s. The unique geography, he explained, makes for premier growing conditions.

The Rocks District is a subset of the Walla Walla AVA, though it is located entirely in Oregon. It is the only AVA predicated on one single soil series, characterized by basalt cobblestones — and lots of them.

The land was essentially formed over thousands of years by the nearby Walla Walla River, which washed down from the Blue Mountains and depositing gravels up to several hundred feet deep.

Geologists call it an alluvial fan. Robertson calls it tremendous terroir. Not only do the rocks allow for incredible drainage, he said, but the surface stones also act as miniature radiators to ripen grapes later in the season.

“It’s not because we’re geniuses. It’s because of that terroir,” Robertson said.

The Rocks District covers 5.9 square miles and has grown to include 37 vineyards, with more in development. Robertson said a producer from Rioja, a wine region in northern Spain, has purchased 10 acres in the district, while Willamette Valley Vineyards, one of Oregon’s top wine producers, will plant its first 5 acres in the district in early 2018.

Willamette Valley Vineyards, based south of Salem, is not new to the Walla Walla Valley. The company first purchased 42 acres in SeVein Vineyards near Milton-Freewater in 2015, growing mostly Cabernet Sauvignon.

Christine Clair, winery director for Willamette Valley Vineyards, said they purchased 36 acres of former apple and cherry orchards in The Rocks District, which will eventually become an estate vineyard for their local brand.

“We think this is one of the most interesting wine growing areas in all the new world,” Clair said.

The goal of The Rocks District Winegrowers, Robertson said, is to continue telling the district’s story as the AVA garners more attention and investment from around the world.

The nonprofit currently represents 20 different growers. Robertson said another 165 acres are in development. In 10 years, he said, The Rocks District could become a major player at the global level.

“The hardest thing about the wine industry is being patient,” Robertson said. “I think our first steps can’t necessarily be in New York or San Francisco. Our first steps need to be in Seattle and Portland.”

Robertson said the nonprofit will be meeting in mid-February to decide upon its members’ ambitions and marketing goals. First, he said, they need to build up their volume. Consumer awareness will then follow.

“Our biggest job in the Northwest is going to be Portland,” Robertson said. “But the upside is strong, because so few people from Portland have had the opportunity to taste these wines.”

Tom Danowski, president of the Oregon Wine Board, already likes what he sees out of The Rocks District. The AVA, he said, is like a “turbo-charger” for highlighting the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley.

Along with critical acclaim and a passionate group of advocates, Danowski said those are the tail winds that can help an AVA take off fast.

“The potential is just going to be extraordinary,” Danowski said.

Robertson said The Rocks District must prove it can walk before it runs, but ultimately he believes it will become the most important AVA in the Northwest.

“It’s going to be an exponential rise in planted acres, which then drives everything else,” Robertson said. “It’s not a causal thing. It’s serious business.”

An oysterman would forfeit his oyster plats in Tillamook Bay if he prevails in a lawsuit alleging inadequate regulation of dairy pollution, according to Oregon’s attorneys.

Jesse Hayes, president of the Hayes Oyster Co., filed a complaint accusing the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality of allowing dairy pollution to effectively shut down oyster harvests in the bay.

The lawsuit seeks $100,000 for lost profits and reduced property value, as well as an order for DEQ to regulate pollution more strictly in the region.

The State of Oregon denies taking the plaintiff’s property by sanctioning pollution, but if he’s successful in this claim, ownership of the affected oyster beds should go to DEQ, according to the state’s attorneys.

The title to the oyster bed lease would “vest” to the agency because Hayes is pursuing a claim of “inverse condemnation,” under which a government action is alleged to have take property without compensation, the state’s attorneys said in a counterclaim against Hayes.

Hayes objects to the state government’s argument because the lawsuit’s goal is to “regain economically viable use of its oyster plats” rather than being forced to sell them to DEQ “for a disputed price so that the pollution easement can continue indefinitely,” according to a letter sent by his attorney, Thomas Benke.

“If nothing else, public policy should preclude DEQ from extinguishing a ‘beneficial use’ that it is mandated by law to protect,” Benke said in the letter to Tillamook County Circuit Judge Mari Garric Trevino.

The fair market value of the oyster plats would be in the “millions of dollars” if Oregon properly regulated pollution, rather than the $100,000 cited in the complaint, Benke said.

If his “only remedy at law” is to seek the full value of the oyster beds, Hayes should be allowed to modify the complaint to reflect the actual value or withdraw the unjust takings claim, Benke said.

The judge has asked for a formal motion to be submitted on the matter.

Earlier this year, the judge rejected Oregon’s motion for the case to be dismissed, allowing Hayes to proceed with the lawsuit.

Because it involves regulations affecting dairy farmers, the litigation is being monitored by the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, which has disputed that dairy cows are predominantly responsible for bacterial contamination in the bay.

NYSSA, Ore. — A proposed major rail reload facility in Eastern Oregon that could greatly help the region’s onion industry is on track to be built within three years.

The region’s onion shipping companies face constant transportation challenges. Industry leaders say the problem is getting worse and the reload facility is sorely needed.

“Transportation is a chronic problem for us (and) it’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it right now,” said Kay Riley, manager of Snake River Produce, one of 30 onion shipping companies in southwestern Idaho and Malheur County, Ore.

Riley said the planned reload facility is so important “it could keep us in business, and we could go out of business without it.”

The facility would allow shipping containers to be transfered between truck and rail. It could benefit a wide range of agricultural commodities grown as far away as southcentral Idaho.

Most onions produced here are sold to markets on the East Coast. Shippers must currently truck them 216 miles west to the nearest reload facility in Wallula, Wash, before they begin their journey east.

Eliminating that step will reduce the cost of shipping onions, improve timeliness of delivery and possibly open new markets, said Grant Kitamura, general manager of Baker & Murakami Produce, the region’s largest onion shipper.

“This is a major game changer for onion shippers,” he said. “It will help us maintain our viability as an industry. Transportation has been a real issue for onion shippers in Oregon and Idaho for many years and it’s been getting worse and hopefully this will help us turn it around.”

Bruce Corn, an Oregon farmer, said the facility could markedly speed up delivery times to East Coast markets.

“It can result in a substantial savings in transportation costs and also be a much more reliable source of transportation,” he said.

The $5.3 billion transportation package passed by the Oregon Legislature this year included $26 million for a reload facility in Eastern Oregon. A 400-acre piece of land just north of Nyssa was recently chosen as the facility’s location.

The plan for the facility is for it to include dry and cold storage, said Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, who is helping lead the effort to build the facility.

“All of a sudden, we become a regional location that can compete against anyone in the world,” said Smith, Malheur County’s economic development director.

The plan also includes building the infrastructure needed by food processors, Smith said.

“That way, agricultural food processors will have a one-stop location where they can produce and have a shipping hub right at their back door,” he said.

The biggest challenge now is making sure the facility is designed and built correctly, Smith said.

“I think our biggest challenge is expectation. Folks want this now,” he said. “We want to take our time and do it correctly, not do it quickly just to meet that expectation. This facility is going to be here for 100 years. Let’s do it correctly the first time.”

The change can happen overnight, a mutation at the microscopic level, causing otherwise healthy ornamentals such as daisies and chrysanthemums to sprout damaging growth defects.

Rhodococcus, a type of soil-borne bacteria, is to blame for the deformity, infecting mostly herbaceous perennial plants with leafy galls, a disease that burdens Oregon’s $900 million greenhouse and nursery industry.

But not all strains of rhodococcus are harmful, according to researchers with Oregon State University. In fact, some may be beneficial, helping to grow more root hairs and improve uptake of water and nutrients.

The transformation of rhodococcus from good to bad lies in tiny DNA molecules known as plasmids, according to OSU. Researchers are now developing tools that will allow nurseries to identify bad rhodococcus before it spreads, avoiding potentially serious losses.

Jeff Chang, associate professor for OSU in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, led a recent study published Dec. 12 in the journal eLife. He said plasmids are the switch that turns rhodococcus from beneficial to completely pathogenic, morphing from Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde.

“You can see how very subtle changes in a bacterial genome can change it from being benign to pathogenic,” Chang said. “The ease to which this transition occurs is rather unusual, and it presents a difficult challenge for nurseries.”

Nurseries are the leader in Oregon agriculture production, with most sales going out of state. Not only are ornamental plants produced for aesthetics and beauty, but they also need to be free of disease before they ship out, Chang said. Otherwise, they must be destroyed.

It was Alexandra Weisberg, a postdoctoral fellow in Chang’s lab, who observed plasmids moving between strains of rhodococcus. Plasmids are molecules within bacterial DNA that replicate independently of the cell cycle, giving bacteria new advantages in their environment.

Chang said the intensive hands-on management of plants in nurseries may encourage the rhodococcus bacteria to get together and transfer the disease-causing plasmid.

“So obviously, the key is to keep the nursery site as clean as possible,” he said. “They could have rhodococcus as a persistent pathogen-causing organism on their site.”

Vigilance is crucial, Chang said, since there is no spray known to control rhodococcus. OSU is working to develop a test kit, he added, that will help nursery managers distinguish between the good and bad bacteria and avoid destroying non-infected plants.

The product is still under development, though Chang described it as resembling a pregnancy stick test.

“The hard part is extracting DNA from the bacteria,” he said.

Melodie Putnam, director and chief diagnostician at the OSU Plant Clinic, said the difference between benign and harmful rhodococcus has led to some misdiagnoses of pistachio trees, which were submitted to the university in 2014.

The trees were short and bushy, had knobby stems and would not properly graft, Putnam said. After testing, however, she found only non-pathogenic rhodococcus in the samples.

She hopes the university’s study and testing tools will help growers to accurately identify and diagnose rhodococcus themselves.

“Education is the primary thing that I’m hoping for,” Putnam said.

The project may also lead to better management tools for the harmful strains of rhodococcus, she added.

“Right now, there aren’t any good options,” she said.

Chang said his lab has pre-applied to the USDA for additional funding to continue the research, and possibly figure out what conditions cause plasmids to transfer in the first place.

“This is a huge problem in the nursery industry, which produces plants for their beauty and aesthetic values,” he said.