Low temperatures have slowed the growth of Oregon’s crops this spring, at least compared to recent years, while high moisture levels have impeded the state’s farmers.

Crop development in the Willamette Valley, for example, is roughly a month behind 2016 and 2015, according to “degree day” data compiled by Oregon State University.

Degree days represent the accumulated average daily temperatures above a certain threshold — 41 degrees Fahrenheit for many crops — necessary for plant growth.

However, crop development in 2017 is actually close to the usual average. The previous two springs were simply much warmer than typical, according to OSU.

“Even though it’s been quite cool compared to the last couple years, we’re still around the 30-year normal,” said Len Coop, associate director of OSU’s Integrated Plant Protection Center.

Meanwhile, precipitation across Oregon has been 20-47 percent above average during the current water year, which began last autumn, according to USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Saturated soils have prevented farmers from applying fertilizers and pesticides or planting vegetables and other annual crops, experts say.

“You’ve got this complication of all the work backing up,” said Tom Peerbolt, a berry crop consultant and founder of Peerbolt Crop Management.

Soggy ground and strong winds knocked over a large oak tree at a ranch near Elkton, Ore., killing two cows owned by Ed Cooley.

Cooley said he realized something had gone wrong when his electric fence failed, which led him to the fallen tree and five cows trapped beneath.

While two were crushed to death, Cooley managed to rescue the other three by removing limbs with a chain saw.

“The cows were pretty calm about it,” he said.

Plentiful rainfall tends to encourage fungal diseases like scab in apples, but low temperatures suppress the emergence of pests, such as the spotted wing drosophila and brown marmorated stink bug, said Coop.

The spotted wing drosophila needs a higher temperature threshold — 50 degrees Fahrenheit — to develop than many crops, so right now, the insect’s populations are lagging plant growth, he said.

The pest would still be at a disadvantage if the weather quickly shifts to being hot and dry, but mild temperatures would allow it to thrive, Coop said.

“They could catch up later on,” he said.

Rainy weather during blueberry bloom reduces bee activity, which could hurt pollination, though the problem is still speculative at this point, said Peerbolt.

Dampness is also conducive to mummy berry, a fungal disease, which is tough to combat with fungicides when windows of appropriate spraying weather are scarce, he said.

“It increases the risks of fungal disease pressure down the road,” Peerbolt said.

The pace of field work is sluggish this spring for growers of sweet peas, which could delay planting of other crops, such as corn and green beans, said Dan Fitzner, scheduling manager for the NORPAC food processing cooperative.

If NORPAC’s processing volume is dominated by sweet peas, that prevents the company from switching to those other crops, he said. Effectively, that means planting of other crops must be delayed or acreage of sweet peas must be decreased.

“It could be a problem if it keeps up like this,” he said.

Some Oregon crops can benefit from the dreary spring.

Perennial ryegrass, a major seed crop in the Willamette Valley, generally performs better in cooler, wetter weather, said Tom Chastain, an OSU seed crop physiology professor.

Rust disease tends to be more problematic on perennial ryegrass and tall fescue — another common grass seed crop — during warmer and drier springs, since the reproductive cycle of the fungus is sped up, Chastain said.

However, annual ryegrass, which is generally planted in poorly drained soils, won’t be helped by the generous rainfall, he said.

The cool spring is a delayed effect of the La Nina climate pattern, which is associated with low Pacific Ocean temperatures, said Coop.

“Every time a La Nina comes around, this is what we expect,” he said.

According to long-term forecasts, though, temperatures are expected to become higher than average later in spring, Coop said.

“The normal seasonal pattern should kick in pretty soon,” he said.

BANDON -- "Celebrating Differences" is the theme for this year's Will and Celia Piehl Youth Poetry Contest.

LANGLOIS -- An evening with prize-winning novelist Molly Gloss, a well-known Oregon author, will be presented at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at the old Langlois Cheese Factory.

BANDON -- "Celebrating Differences" is the theme for this year's Will and Celia Piehl Youth Poetry Contest.

BANDON - A strong storm hit the South Coast and Southern Oregon Thursday night and lasted throughout the day Friday, causing widespread power outages, downed trees, damage to brush and other vegetation as well as minor property damage in the…

Capital Press

SALEM — Oregon had only two more confirmed wolves at the end of 2016 than it did the year before, a growth rate the state wildlife department described as “weak” and a sharp drop from the 27 to 36 percent growth rates the previous three years.

The state visually documented 112 wolves at the end of 2016, according to ODFW’s annual report. At the end of 2015, Oregon had 110 confirmed wolves.

Department spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy acknowledged the low population gain but said ODFW is not concerned.

“It’s one year, one data point, based on what we saw,” she said. “It’s not a trend of growth rates decreasing.”

Russ Morgan, ODFW’s wolf program manager, said the weak population gain is a “byproduct of our counting methodology,” in which wolves aren’t counted without a confirmed sighting. He called that method “very conservative.”

“You get what you get,” he said. “It’s not the actual population, but the actual minimum. You know there can’t be fewer.”

In the future, the department may rely more on pack counts than on breeding pair counts, he said, and include population estimates based on known birth rates and other information.

Oregon Wild, a conservation group long involved in wolf management issues, holds an opposite view.

In a prepared statement, Conservation Director Steve Pedery noted the report shows population growth is “stalled” and the number of breeding pairs and packs declined from 2015.

“This raises troubling questions about ODFW’s continuing drive to pursue hunting and trapping,” Pedery said. Oregon Wild and other activists believe the state may ultimately allow hunting of wolves, as it does cougars and bears.

The ODFW report lists several reasons why the wolf count is low, including disease.

Blood samples taken from wolves commonly show high rates of exposure to parvovirus; the same is true of domestic dogs, said Morgan, the ODFW wolf program manager. But in 2016, 68 percent of samples taken were positive for a specific marker that shows active or recent infections. Parvovirus can increase pup mortality rates, which would affect short-term population growth rates. However, the report indicates the finding is not expected to impact the wolf population long-term.

Another possibility is what the report calls known or unknown “human-caused” mortality. Seven wolves are known to have been killed during the year, including four by ODFW itself. The department shot members of the Imnaha Pack, including longtime alpha wolf OR-4, in March 2016. The wolves had attacked and eaten or injured calves and sheep in private pastures five times that spring.

Meanwhile, Oregon State Police continue to investigate two other wolf killings, and one wolf was legally shot by a herder when it was caught in the act attacking livestock.

Other reasons for the small population gain may include “decreased breeder success, diseases affecting pup survival, and dispersal out-of-state,” according to the report.

Dennehy, the ODFW spokeswoman, said the 2016 count was hindered by severe winter weather that grounded observation flights at times. Wolves may have been present but not counted, the ODFW report says.

Also in the report:

• Depredation investigations confirmed wolves killed 11 calves, seven sheep, one goat and a llama in 2016, compared to three calves, 10 sheep and a herding or guard dog in 2015.

• The state distributed $129,664 to 13 counties to compensate producers for dead, injured or missing livestock and to pay for prevention and deterrence programs. About $5,000 of the amount was for grant administration.

The population numbers are part of a draft wolf management plan that will be considered by the ODFW Commission at two public hearings this spring: April 21 in Klamath Falls and May 19 in Portland.

Wednesday, April 12

Multiple irrigators claim the federal government’s plans for two Klamath-area national wildlife refuges unlawfully restrict farmed acres and agricultural practices.

In the final days of the Obama administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued plans for managing several refuges in the Klamath basin over the next 15 years.

The Tulelake Irrigation District, Klamath Water Users Association, Tulelake Growers Association and three private farms have now filed a complaint against the agency, arguing that plans for the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges violate federal laws.

The plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to overturn the management plans and impose an injunction against the farming restrictions.

“The likely effects of this shift in management will be noxious weed growth on fallowed or non-irrigated lands, wind erosion of dry topsoils, as well as detrimental social, and economic effects, all without any benefit to migrating waterfowl,” the complaint said. “Further, it would be false to assume that less agriculture will result in more water for waterfowl or wetland habitat. Indeed, the approximate is true: less agriculture will result in less water, more noxious weeds, less wetland habitat, and less food resources for waterfowl.”

Capital Press was unable to reach a representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as of press time.

National wildlife refuges in the region have long been leased for agricultural production, allow farmers without land of their own to plant crops and expand their businesses, according to plaintiffs.

Farmers leave a portion of grain crops for waterfowl to eat and cooperate with scientists to develop innovative “wildlife-friendly farming practices” on the leased refuge acres, the complaint said.

Under the management plans issued in January, growers leasing land in the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath refuges would be subject to numerous stipulations, such as prohibitions on post-harvest field work and genetically engineered crops, the complaint said.

The government plans also to restrict alfalfa harvests, require farmland to be flooded over winter and disallow hazing of waterfowl during tilling and planting in late winter and early spring, the plaintiffs allege.

“These stipulations would or may reduce agricultural acreage and increase the number of unharvested acres of land that remain in agriculture, as well as impair the ability to productively farm on the lease lands,” the complaint said.

According to the plaintiffs, these plans violate legislation passed by Congress in 1964, known as the Kuchel Act, which requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to “continue the present pattern of leasing” of property within the refuges.

The lawsuit also claims the government insufficiently studied the “direct and indirect adverse environmental effects” of the restrictions, while failing to show they actually helped waterfowl.

Aside from the irrigators’ complaint, the U.S. Fish and Wildife Service is also contending with a lawsuit filed by environmentalists who claim the agency unlawfully lets farmers use pesticides on leased refuge acres.

WINSTON, Ore. — Radio collared wolves have been monitored in the southern Cascades Mountains of Oregon and officials agree it won’t be long before multiple packs take up residence in those mountains, in the Siskiyou Mountains and probably in the Coast Range.

That was part of the message delivered by state and federal officials during a presentation April 6 at the annual Douglas County Livestock’s Spring Livestock Conference. A timeline is not being predicted for the permanent settlement of the four-legged animal in Western Oregon, but there was consensus that they are quietly venturing west from northeastern Oregon packs.

“Wolves are on their way, the growth curve of their population shows that,” Tod Lum, the Douglas District wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said to the audience of about 50 livestock producers.

“It’s just a matter of time before they get here,” said Paul Wolf, the supervisor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services program in Douglas County.

“It’ll just take a little bit of time,” he added, knocking on wood.

The Rogue pack to the south of Crater Lake is established. Wolves have also been monitored in the Keno, Ore., area and three radio collared wolves have been monitored traveling through the southern Cascades south of LaPine, Ore., and into the Siskyous in California.

More recently, the OR33 wolf was reportedly seen near the Lemolo Lake-Highway 138 junction in the Cascades in eastern Douglas County last year. Then last October, a wolf, possibly OR33, was seen about 10 miles east of Roseburg, Ore. Those are considered “credible, but good unconfirmed sightings,” according to Lum. To be a credible sighting, the animal or physical evidence must be photographed and turned into an ODFW office.

Western Oregon ranchers are concerned about the arrival of wolves because they’ll be one more possible predator on their livestock, especially targeting newborn calves and lambs. Ranchers must already deal with coyotes, cougars, bears, eagles and ravens.

Veril Nelson, a cattle rancher east of Sutherlin, Ore., and co-chairman of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association wolf committee, said one of the OCA’s biggest concerns is that in Western Oregon the wolf remains protected by the federal Endangered Species Act and even if a wolf is seen killing a calf, there is nothing the rancher can do about it.

“The association would like to see the wolf taken off the endangered list,” he said, noting the animal is already off the state’s endangered list. “We’re going to be lobbying at the federal level for that.”

Nelson said the environmental groups “are pushing for and expressing they do not want wolves to be hunted, regardless of their population.” Nelson has seen photos of wolf attacks on calves and he describes it as “bite, bite, bite, bite and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

The Oregon Wolf Plan is currently being reviewed. Stakeholders in the wolf plan met in Salem, Ore., in March and made recommendations on how to revise the plan that was first written in 2008. Those recommendations will be presented to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission at an April 21 meeting in Klamath Falls, Ore.

According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, “The goal of the plan is to ensure the conservation of gray wolves as required by Oregon law while protecting the social and economic interests of all Oregonians. Minimizing wolf-livestock conflict and reducing livestock losses to wolves is an important part of the Wolf Plan.”

Suzanne Stone, the Northwest representative with Defenders of Wildlife and a resident of Boise, Idaho, was also a presenter at the conference. She emphasized to the ranchers the use of non-lethal methods to discourage wolves from having confrontations with livestock. Those methods include having guard dogs live with the livestock, removing bone and carcass piles that attract predators, using sirens and air horns, hanging streamers on fences and increasing human presence around the livestock.

“Some people are interested in using the methods and want to protect their livestock the best way they can and others say they just don’t want them (wolves) here,” Stone said. “I think they will expand here, but probably not into urbanized areas. Wolves tend to avoid human contact.

“Western Oregon is going through the same thing Idaho and Montana did regarding wolves,” she said. “There’s so much misinformation out there about wolves. Don’t get waylaid and waste a lot of time and energy on rumors. Focus and work on preventive measures.”

Nelson said in some situations those non-lethal methods should be used, but “no tool is going to work for very long because those predators are smart and will adjust to get what they want.” He also emphasized that even if wolves don’t kill livestock, the predators can stress the domestic animals into lower conception rates and weight loss.

Nelson said he would be attending the April 21 Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting in Klamath Falls and added that he hoped other livestock associations would also have representatives there.

Tuesdays

SOUTH COAST — School districts on the South Coat are confused.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12

SALEM — A proposal to make lawsuits over alleged pesticide damages easier to file in Oregon has died along with several other bills that could have impacted agriculture.

Senate Bill 500 wasn’t scheduled for a work session as of April 7, killing the legislation.

Under current law, anybody who claims to be harmed by pesticides must submit a report within 60 days to the Oregon Department of Agriculture before taking legal action against the landowner or applicator.

Senate Bill 500 would have removed the requirement, which was characterized by proponents as an unfair impediment to justice and by critics as a reasonable barrier to frivolous litigation.

Critics of the bill argued the reporting requirement allows ODA to gather facts substantiating or repudiating the claims of pesticide loss, thus avoiding litigation based on weak or nonexistent evidence.

The 60-day window also ensures that accused farmers have an opportunity to collect evidence, which may not be possible if a lawsuit is filed long after an alleged incident, opponents said.

Supporters of SB 500, on the other hand, said the “report of loss” requires submitting specifics that are difficult for people to obtain, such as the type of pesticide applied and who sprayed the chemical.

Rural residents who are exposed to pesticides often won’t realize they must submit a report to ODA, according to proponents.

If they find out about the 60-day deadline too late, residents are then permanently blocked from seeking legal recourse, supporters said.

The April 7 deadline, which lawmakers set early in the legislative session, also marked the death of other farm-related proposals:

• Senate Bill 499 would have changed Oregon’s “right to farm” law to exclude pesticide usage. The statute currently protects common agricultural practices from lawsuits over nuisance and trespass, but SB 499 would have specifically allowed litigation over pesticide use.

• Senate Bill 198 would have established an Independent Science Review Board to analyze controversial decisions by state agencies, such as wolf management or restrictions on genetically engineered crops. Representatives of natural resources industries objected to SB 198, arguing that such a panel would create another layer of bureaucracy without ensuring objectivity.

• Senate Bill 866 would have held cities liable for discharging pollutants in stormwater into irrigation canals without permission. Supporters claimed SB 866 was necessary for irrigators to comply with environmental laws, but municipal governments said the bill would unrealistically require them to collect and divert all the rainwater falling within their boundaries.

• House Bill 2180 would allow workers with unpaid wage complaints to file liens against the property of their employers. Supporters of HB 2180 said the proposal would prevent employers from transferring assets to another entity to avoid paying unpaid wages. Critics countered that such liens could disrupt business transactions even without proving any wrongdoing by an employer.

• House Bill 2181 would have created a “rebuttable presumption” that employers unlawfully retaliated against workers who were fired within 90 days of filing an unpaid wage claim. Employers argued that under HB 2181 they’d be considered guilty until proven innocent.

• House Bill 2365 would have created a task force to study transferring federal land to state ownership. Such transfers are opposed by environmental groups that say state government wouldn’t be able to afford the upkeep of such lands, forcing their sale to private parties.

• House Bill 3016 would prohibit discrimination by county and city governments against any specific type of livestock in zones where livestock are generally allowed. Critics of HB 3016 worried the bill would prompt local governments to make more zones livestock-free.

An early warning system for earthquakes is expanding to Oregon and Washington — thanks to a group of universities and government agencies.

California has had the “ShakeAlert” system for a couple of years. And depending on where an earthquake hits, it can give nearby cities a warning of up to a minute or two. That’s enough for a train to stop, a lift to open, or for people to get out of a building.

University of Oregon professor Doug Toomey said a small network of sensors is now installed in Oregon and Washington, so an earthquake can be distinguished from, for example, a passing truck.

Toomey said a full network would cost about $38 million.

“It’s being rolled out slowly because we don’t have that amount of funds yet,” he said. “We’ve been lobbying at the federal and state levels over the past several years to increase the funding for ShakeAlert.”

The hope is that in the future, there will be enough sensors to justify a phone app so the general public can get earthquake warnings.

Some public utilities like EWEB in Eugene have bought their own sensors — so they can switch off dams and generators during a big shake.

HERMISTON, Ore. — New name. New building. Same familiar faces.

Following the dissolution of Pendleton Grain Growers last year, fellow agricultural co-op Mid Columbia Producers has arrived in Umatilla County to carry on the former PGG fuel division, setting up shop at a new location in Hermiston.

Based in Moro, Mid Columbia Producers was established in 1988 with the merger of two neighboring cooperatives. Mid Columbia purchased PGG Energy last December, which delivers gasoline and diesel to customers as well as bulk and packaged lubes.

The sale did not include PGG propane, which went instead to Morrow County Grain Growers — effectively splitting PGG Energy into two companies.

All 16 PGG Energy employees did keep their jobs, including Bryan Bailey, who spent 27 years with PGG and oversaw the entire fuel operation. Bailey now heads up the eastern fuel division for Mid Columbia from their new satellite office in Hermiston.

“It has been a very smooth transition,” Bailey said. “Customer retention has been very high.”

For years, PGG Energy was located on Southwest Dorion Avenue in Pendleton next to the main co-op offices and retail store. But that building was never included as part of the sale, which left Mid Columbia looking for a new venue.

“Initially we wanted to stay in Pendleton,” Bailey said. “But we could not find a building that suited what we needed.”

After searching around Pendleton for several weeks, Bailey said they found the perfect spot at 345 N. First Place in Hermiston, which used to house Stoneway Electric Supply. Bailey said the space is plenty big, which will allow them to expand their selection and volume.

For one thing, Bailey said Mid Columbia will introduce a multitude of new fuel suppliers, and a larger supply chain means more competitive prices.

“The fuel business is a business of pennies,” he said. “Any advantage you can get with pricing really helps with your success.”

Mid Columbia is also part of the Pacific Pride and CFN networks, providing additional options for commercial fueling.

More than anything, Bailey said the retention of employees has allowed Mid Columbia to retain PGG customers. A lot of trust goes into building those relationships, and he said farmers are pleased to see the same truck drivers making their deliveries.

“It was very comforting to our customers that the faces they saw out there are the same,” Bailey said.

Jeff Kaser, Mid Columbia manager, said the co-op has steadily built its fuel business since 2011. Mid Columbia made a big splash in 2012, purchasing Bend Oil, and Kaser said PGG Energy was another good fit.

“We want to be in markets where farmers can benefit from doing business with us,” Kaser said.

As a fellow farmer-owned co-op, Kaser said Mid Columbia also shares the same values as PGG in terms of service and community involvement.

“If we can do that, we’ll be successful,” he said.

Nobody wanted to see PGG dissolve, Bailey said, but he is pleased with the direction of the business going forward.

“(PGG) put these businesses in the hands of people who can run them and continue to grow them,” Bailey said. “To me, that’s a success story.”

A state ag department campaign to kill destructive Japanese beetles begins April 17 when contractors will apply a granular insecticide to lawns on 2,500 private properties in the Cedar Mill area of Washington County, just west of Portland.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture says the action, which could extend to annual treatments for up to five years, is crucial to knock out an infestation of the beetles that was confirmed last summer.

The project could become an uncomfortable legal problem for the ag department, however. The effort’s success hinges on the cooperation of all property owners, and a handful — 16 of the 2,500 as of April 6 — have said they won’t allow insecticide applied on their lawns. Several hundred others have not responded despite five direct mailings, 46 community presentations, social media postings and 500 hours of door-to-door canvassing.

If necessary, the department is prepared to ask a judge for an order allowing it to go on private property and complete the treatment, said Bruce Pokarney, the department spokesman. The department believes it has legal authority to take the action, he said.

“If we don’t have to do that, it would be great,” Pokarney said.

If it goes that far, the issue could involve balancing private property rights against the potential economic harm to businesses and property owners outside the area.

Ag officials say Japanese beetles are capable of causing heavy damage to commercial nurseries, vineyards, orchards, and crops ranging from cannabis to cane berries. A department analysis estimated that an infestation could cost Oregon agriculture an estimated $43 million a year in damaged plants, lost crop value, export restrictions and increased spraying and other production costs.

Clint Burfitt, the ag department’s insect pest program manager, said the property owners who have said they won’t allow insecticide applications are scattered throughout the 1,000-acre treatment area.

“We’re trying to communicate with them about what their concerns are,” he said. “Some are concerned about pesticides in general. It doesn’t matter what pesticide it is, it’s a word that sparks fear. Others don’t want the government on their property.”

He said nurseries would be hardest hit initially, followed by small farms, berry crops, orchard fruit and nut crops and “definitely grape production.” In the Great Lakes region, some vineyards have to spray three times a summer to control adult Japanese beetles, he said.

If the department does nothing, it could result in thousands of people trying to control the beetles on their own, using much more pesticide, Burfitt said. Traps and biological controls aren’t enough to control them, he said.

“In order for Japanese beetle eradication to work, we need to treat the irrigated turf grass in this area — people’s lawns,” Burfitt said.

The treatment is a granular form of Acelepryn, an insecticide commonly used to control grubs on golf courses. The treatment does not involve a liquid spray or aerial applications. Burfitt said Acelepryn is not hazardous to humans, pets or wildlife. “Safety is the most important aspect of this entire project,” he said.

The department would apply the insecticide in April or May, when Japanese Beetles are in their grub, or larvae, form. The treatment would be done once a year for up to five years. The department is contracting with a professional pest control company to do the applications.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Strong winds knocked out power to more than 100,000 homes and businesses in western Oregon.

Pacific Power says outages were reported Friday morning in cities from the Willamette Valley down toward the California state line, including Albany, Bandon, Grants Pass, North Bend, Roseburg and many other communities.

The lights were also going out closer to Portland, as gusty winds tossed debris across downtown streets and forced construction workers to hold on to their hard hats.

Portland General Electric reports 30,000 customers were without power at 8 a.m. in the three-county metro area. Another 10,000 customers were without power in the county that includes Salem.

HOOD RIVER, Ore. — Veteran horticulturist Steve Castagnoli is the new director of Oregon State University’s Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hood River.

Castagnoli has worked at the center since 2000, and is well known among the area’s pear and sweet cherry growers. His appointment comes after a tumultuous couple years in which three key people resigned, including the previous superintendent. Tree fruit growers hope the center will stabilize and resume research projects that were interrupted when the people conducting them left.

“I’m very supportive of Steve’s appointment,” said Mike Omeg, a cherry grower in The Dalles who also sits on the Capital Press board of directors. “He understands the tree fruit industry in the Mid-Columbia real well.”

But Omeg warned that Castagnoli has stiff challenges ahead of him, including “staff and funding issues that are profound.”

The center has seen significant turnover. Horticulturist Todd Einhorn, who was doing what growers consider important dwarf root stock research on pears, left to work on apples at Michigan State University. Entomologist Peter Shearer, who had been the research center superintendent, resigned in 2016; he was among the Pacific Northwest’s key researchers on Spotted Wing Drosophila and Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs, two damaging pests. Preston Brown, who managed the center’s 55-acre experimental farm, also quit. And Brian Tuck, whom Castagnoli replaced, rotated back to his post as regional administrator of Extension in Hood River and Wasco counties.

Castagnoli said his first focus will be to rebuild the station’s staffing by filling the vacant horticulture and entomology research positions. He said growers also favor having plant pathology and soil science expertise on staff, but funding is uncertain.

“The budget challenges are pretty severe right now,” he said. The College of Agricultural Sciences supports rebuilding the center’s staffing, “But they have to balance our needs with the needs of the other 11 branch experiment stations and 14 academic departments on campus,” he said.

The Legislature’s budget decisions will determine what happens, he said.

The Mid-Columbia center’s territory envelopes Hood River and Wasco counties and includes markedly diverse agricultural regions. The counties border along the north-south line where Oregon’s climate transitions from wet west to dry east, and orchards in the Hood River Valley grow along a 2,000 foot elevation gain. Pears and sweet cherries are the predominant crops, but there is still some apple production, blueberries and a recent uptick in wine grape acreage. Castagnoli said growers have cooperated with off-station research projects, including some across the Columbia River in Washington’s Klickitat and Skamania counties.

He said the center’s research focus will remain on pears and sweet cherries. The growth in wine grapes doesn’t yet justify allocating research money and time to it, but OSU Extension can help growers, he said. Castagnoli said he has a viticulture background and has worked with some growers in the past.

Castagnoli is optimistic about stabilizing the center’s operations.

“I think I’ve always had real good support from the industry,” he said. “Despite the interruption in research programs, they’re maintaining that support.”

SALEM — Multiple bills aim to relax restrictions on building homes and businesses in Oregon’s rural areas, but they face short lives unless lawmakers soon take action.

Exemptions to Oregon’s statewide land use planning system would give local governments more flexibility under the five bills, which received a hearing April 6 from the Senate Environment Committee.

• Senate Bill 432 would allow local governments to create land use plans without complying with statewide goals as long as they’re in counties with fewer than 50,000 people and haven’t grown since the previous federal census.

• Senate Bill 602 would allow local governments to waive land use requirements to create a five-year supply of “shovel ready employment sites.”

• Senate Bill 608 would allow local governments to expedite the growth of urban growth boundaries if they meet certain criteria for population growth.

• Senate Bill 612 would allow local governments experiencing unemployment and poverty to take an exception from a land use goal if it creates at least five jobs paying four times the federal poverty rate.

• Senate Bill 618 would allow local governments to waive a land use goal in the event of a “land use emergency.”

Under rules adopted for the 2017 legislative session, these bills will die by the end of April 7 unless they’re scheduled a work session, during which committees generally vote on legislation.

Much of the testimony during the recent hearing centered on SB 432, which would effectively only apply to eight Oregon counties: Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler.

These counties have lost significant numbers of people, which threatens the viability of schools, hospitals and law enforcement agencies, said Ted Ferrioli, R-John Day, the bill’s chief sponsor.

“The social infrastructure is really what’s unraveled in these communities,” he said.

Washington has exempted 10 rural counties from its land use system and they’re performing better economically than comparable counties in Oregon, which have struggled for decades, Ferrioli said.

“It worked there, it can probably work here. We just need the courage to give it a try,” he said.

Any development in Oregon’s most rural counties would still be constrained by available water, power and soils suitable for septic tanks, said Gary Thompson, county judge for Sherman County.

“That will eliminate 90 percent of the land available in the county,” he said.

Proponents of the bill argued that rural counties in Eastern Oregon face a completely different situation than those where expansion of urban growth boundaries can’t keep up with housing demand.

It’s unlikely that counties with low or negative population growth will succumb to urban sprawl, but existing rules prevent the possibility of new development, according to supporters.

The economic stagnation in these areas is self-reinforcing, since local governments cannot expand urban growth boundaries unless they can forecast population growth, said Erin Doyle, lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities.

“Tell me what you’re supposed to do. You can’t say you need more housing because you’re not having more people coming in,” she said.

Opponents of SB 432 and the other four bills claim that a lack of land isn’t really what’s hindering development, which is actually stymied by a lack of transportation and other infrastructure.

It’s true that land within urban growth boundaries is more expensive, said Peggy Lynch, natural resources coordinator for the League of Women Voters of Oregon.

“The reason is there are services inside,” she said.

The five bills propose a “false promise” of easily spurring economic development, but lawmakers would be better off investing in adding value to Oregon’s agriculture industry, said Mary Kyle McCurdy, deputy director of 1,000 Friends of Oregon, a nonprofit that supports land preservation.

Morrow County, for example, has a strong food processing sector that provides local jobs, she said.

Agriculture has kept growing in Oregon through economic recessions, sometimes at a pace faster than the state’s high-tech industry, she said.

“It’s not just vacant land,” McCurdy said.

The Oregon Farm Bureau is concerned about the economic health of Oregon’s rural communities, where its members generally reside, while wanting to preserve productive farmland, said Mary Anne Nash, the group’s general counsel for public policy.

However, the Farm Bureau is in discussions with Ferrioli to examine whether SB 432 might be revised to strike a balance between those two goals, she said.

If that’s possible, the organization would be neutral on the bill, Nash said.

Oregon Farm Bureau is also in negotiations over House Bill 2937, which would ease the construction of “accessory dwelling units” near existing homes.

That bill is being considered by the House Agriculture Committee and isn’t at risk of dying after April 7 because it’s already been moved out of the House Human Services and Housing Committee.

A recent amendment to HB 2937 would restrict accessory dwelling units to rural residential zones and prohibit them within exclusive farm use zones.

That change has pushed the Farm Bureau closer to being neutral on the bill, since its priority is preserving productive farmland, said Nash.

Imperial Stock Ranch, a small Oregon wool producer that has carved out a niche in high-profile markets, is the first U.S. farm to gain the Textile Exchange’s Responsible Wool Standard certification.

The certification is overseen by the Minnesota-based NSF International, which describes itself as a global public health organization. Certification means the ranch “practices the highest levels of animal welfare and land management, and that the wool is fully traceable throughout its supply chain.”

According to NSF International, the Responsible Wool Standard means sheep are treated under a “Five Freedoms” concept. That includes freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury or disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress.

The standard also requires farms or ranches to follow land management practices that protect soil health, biodiversity and native species. The certification process required audits throughout the supply chain, from the ranch to the manufacturers.

On her ranch blog, Imperial co-owner Jeanne Carver said meeting certification standards is not new to the business, but the latest may be the most comprehensive. Auditors were at the ranch over the course of three months, checking the operation, she said.

“It requires a little more record keeping, and the willingness to open our books, records and operation to inspections, but it is one of the best tools I know to share a true and positive story of agriculture,” Carver wrote.

The Oregon wool producer has sought out new markets among high-fashion companies, and in 2014 provided material for the U.S. team’s Winter Olympics uniform sweaters. Yarn made from Imperial Stock Ranch wool has also been picked up by companies such as Ralph Lauren and Patagonia.