Oregon’s farm industry will be more vulnerable to “bad bills” this year due to larger Democratic majorities in the state legislature, said Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose.

Proposals that harm agriculture — such as legislation that would raise fuel prices — will be hard to block now that Democrats have gained two seats in the Oregon Senate for an 18-12 majority and one more in the House for a 35-25 majority, she said.

“This is not a session to be passive. Ag and natural resources are under assault,” Johnson said at the Dunn Carney law firm’s Ag Summit in Wilsonville on Jan. 21.

However, lawmakers may be nervous about approving bills that cause “pain at the pump” for voters and are willing to listen to constituents more than lobbyists, she said.

Growers should pay close attention to proposed bills and inform their local lawmakers on how they affect agriculture, Johnson said. “Be a resource for your legislators.”

Gov. John Kitzhaber will probably push aggressively for energy and environmental legislation, such as extending the state’s low carbon fuel standard, which is expected to substantially increase prices, she said.

Attempts to impose new taxes or raise existing ones are also likely, as are proposals for a major hike in the minimum wage, Johnson said.

“I hope we’re not rushing iconic bills though without understanding unintended consequences,” she said.

Proposals to raise the hourly minimum wage from $9.25 to $12 or even $15 are expected to gain traction, which will probably prompt some businesses to mechanize and cut jobs, said Katie Fast, vice president of public policy for the Oregon Farm Bureau.

A bill to impose mandatory paid sick leave for employees “definitely has legs this session,” while other legislation would remove a state pre-emption statute that blocks local governments from setting their own minimum wages, Fast said.

Lawmakers are also expected to propose new regulations for pesticides — particularly aerial spraying — as well as genetically modified crops, said Katy Coba, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Coexistence among different types of agriculture is gaining more attention among legislators, she said. “We’re seeing more and more challenges in this area.”

OREGON CITY — Fern Russell was fetching water and feed for her sheep when she heard an odd noise from a pen on the lower side of the barn. That’s where she was keeping two ewes, each with twins.

Lambing season is a busy time, and Russell had checked on the ewes and their twins just 45 minutes earlier, but she thought she’d better take another look. She saw one of the ewes — Julie is her name — murmuring to and licking a lamb lying in a corner of the pen. But wait; four lambs and the other ewe were right there too.

“There’s five lambs here now,” Russell thought to herself. “How can that be?”

Julie didn’t seem mystified by the new lamb’s appearance. Twelve days after her twins were born, she apparently had another baby.

“She was talking to it, making little noises,” Russell said. “She claimed it. It was hers.”

Russell walked up to the house and told her husband, Richard Rea, that he wasn’t going to believe what had happened. Being a husband, he asked her what she’d done now.

“It’s not what I did,” Russell responded. “It’s what a ewe did.”

“Well,” he asked, “What did a ewe do?”

Something rare, apparently. People of course suggested the new lamb belongs to another ewe, but Russell said the pen was secure. “Nobody could have gotten in there,” she said.

Others concluded the newcomer is a late triplet, but Russell said a veterinarian disagreed. The vet said Julie must have ovulated twice while Russell had a buck, a registered Suffolk named Junior, mingling with the ladies of the flock. The vet said the double pregnancy was very rare.

Russell and her husband live on 23 acres outside Oregon City and raise a small flock for wool and meat. They’re both retired from the former Omark Industries, a chainsaw manufacturer, and raise sheep as a side business.

The property was a dairy when her parents bought it in 1948, and they turned it into a beef cattle operation. Russell’s interest in sheep began when someone gave her a wether when she was in grade school.

At this point, Julie and her three lambs appear quite healthy, Russell said. The new one is noticeably smaller than the twins, most likely because it’s 12 days younger.

Russell said her ewes are good producers, with twins common. Two of her ewes in previous years had quads — four lambs — so Russell is keeping an eye out as lambing continues. She had 27 ewes due to give birth this season.

“This multiple birth thing is in our sheep,” she said.

But twins followed by a single is something new for a ewe to do.

BANDON — The first-ever Bandon Relay for Life will be held on the high school track this summer and a kick-off party is set for Saturday, Jan. 24, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at The Barn, 1200 11th St…

BOISE — Idaho lawmakers are being asked to approve a temporary rule that would allow hops planting stock to move freely among Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

It would create a common quarantine area within that three-state region and require hops material coming from other states to be certified disease-free.

The change would make Idaho’s rules for hops material consistent with similar rules adopted by Oregon and Washington in recent years, said Lloyd Knight, administrator of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Plant Industries Division.

“It draws a circle around the Northwest and allows better movement of hops within that three-state area, and has additional requirements for hops coming in from out of that area,” Knight said.

Washington, Oregon and Idaho rank 1-3 in hops production in the United States and the industry in those three states is closely aligned, Knight said.

“We have a lot of planting stock that goes back and forth between the three states and our diseases are all consistent within that three-state area,” he said. “(Industry) just wants to be protected from diseases outside that three-state area.”

The ISDA approved the temporary rule at the request of the Idaho hop industry in September but lawmakers still have to OK it.

“Previously, it was a pain in the rear for anybody that wanted to bring roots in,” said Idaho Hop Commission Administrator Mike Gooding. “Now a single person can bring roots in from Washington or Oregon without any problem.”

Besides allowing planting stock to move more freely within the three-state area, he said, the Northwest hop industry also wants to protect itself from diseases that could be brought in from other states.

At the top of that list is the powdery mildew fungus.

The Northwest hop industry has only been able to substantiate a single mating type of powdery mildew, said Gooding, who grows hops near Parma, Idaho.

The new rule requires any hop green matter from outside the region to have tested negative for certain diseases, including powdery mildew.

“If we were to allow other vegetative material in, there’s a possibility we could get the second mating type in, which would then lead to quicker resistance against the regiments that we have developed for powdery mildew control,” Gooding said. “We’re killing two birds with one stone. We’re making it easier for people to bring in new varieties to try and we’re also keeping the second mating type of powdery mildew at bay.”

Sundays

BOISE — The adoption of Roundup Ready sugar beets is saving Idaho and Eastern Oregon growers an estimated $22 million a year.

“That’s the reason, folks, that we have all adopted this technology. It’s a powerful tool,” Snake River Sugar Co. Chairman Duane Grant told members Jan. 15 during the group’s annual meeting.

SRSC is a cooperative of farmers that supplies sugar beets to Amalgamated Sugar Co.

Roundup Ready sugar beets are genetically modified by Monsanto Co. to resist glyphosate herbicide, which the company sells under the trade name Roundup. SRSC members in Idaho and Eastern Oregon planted 178,000 acres of Roundup Ready sugar beets in 2014.

According to SRSC estimates, sugar beet growers’ cost for herbicides to control weeds has dropped from $66 per acre to $11 per acre since they started planting Roundup Ready sugar beets in 2008 and herbicide application costs have dropped from $42 to $21 per acre.

The cost of hand labor has fallen from $60 per acre to $0.

Even though the cost of seed has increased from $44 per acre to $143, the crop has yielded greater yields. Grant said a net margin increase of $122 per acre can be directly attributed to Roundup Ready sugar beet growers.

That has meant a $22 million benefit annually to the cooperative, Grant said.

Weed control had become a critical issue for sugar beet growers before the availability of Roundup Ready sugar beets, Grant said, and the technology has helped change the industry.

Growers “could not control weeds with conventional technology and they were tired of working all night long, spraying ineffective herbicides and then ultimately getting to harvest with a field full of weeds,” said Grant, a Rupert farmer.

“With the advent of Roundup Ready technology, yes, growers are making more money but more importantly, they can predictively produce a crop every single year. That is as meaningful to a growers’ bottom line as what he is making on that acre for that year.”

Besides making it more profitable to farm, the adoption of genetically modified crops has also greatly decreased the use of pesticides, Grant said.

Grant pointed to the results of a meta-study that combined the results of 147 other studies and showed the use of genetically modified crops has reduced pesticide use by 37 percent, increased crop yields by 22 percent and increased farmers’ profits by 68 percent.

He encouraged other farmers to spread the news about those results.

“We have an important story to tell and we should tell it,” he said. “You guys need to get out there and speak up about it.”

Adrianne Massey, managing director of science and regulatory affairs for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, told SRSC growers that one of the main criticisms genetically modified crops face is that only multi-national corporations produce them.

That’s because the regulatory costs involved with getting approval for a GM crop are between $15 million and $36 million, she said.

“That is why,” she said. “Small companies and public sector plant breeders cannot afford the (money) that it costs to develop (them).”

Enhancing the fertility of soils through the use of cover crops will be the focus of an organic conference from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls.

In addition to presentations on soil fertility and cover crops, the conference will include a farmer-to-farmer exchange of knowledge and best practices, presentations on a new crop insurance program and future organic market opportunities with Clif Bar and Amy’s Kitchen.

Nick Andrews, small farms extension agent with Oregon State University, Amber Moore, University of Idaho soil fertility specialist, and Lauren Hunter, University of Idaho extension specialist, will present the latest science-based approaches to organic soil nutrient management and cover cropping.

Farmers will learn how to monitor the nitrogen value of cover crops and plan their organic inputs to meet crop needs.

Anne Berblinger, an organic farmer of Gales Meadow Farm, Forest Grove, Ore., will describe her work with Andrews on soil health, cover cropping and organic nutrient management planning and monitoring.

She will take attendees on a virtual tour of her farm, where she grows more than 300 varieties of vegetables and herbs, direct marketing to consumers and local chefs. She participates in an OSU vegetable seed breeding project, including conducting variety tastings with chefs.

She will also show the native hedgerow she installed to provide habitat for beneficial insects and other wildlife.

The event is presented by Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides with additional support from the two universities.

Preregistration for the conference is required by Jan. 26. Register online at www.pesticide.org or contact Arlie Sommer, agworkshops@pesticide.org or 503-312-1415.

A bill proposed by Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber seeks to expand the authority of state farm regulators over genetically engineered crops.

Until now, the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s power to regulate genetically modified organisms ended when the USDA lifted federal restrictions on them.

Legislation introduced at Kitzhaber’s request — Senate Bill 207 — would allow the department to establish “control areas” to separate biotech crops from organic and conventional crops if the agency determines it’s “necessary to avoid conflicts” from cross-pollination.

Under state law, control areas are intended to protect crops from pests, diseases and noxious weeds.

The ODA can create control areas for biotech crops if the USDA regulates them as potential plant pests, but the state agency loses the authority once they’re determined not to pose that risk.

However, lawmakers have specifically allowed ODA to extend that control area authority to canola. Seed farmers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley fear that canola could cross-pollinate with related crops and ruin their market.

SB 207 would amend that statutory language to include control area authority for genetically engineered crops.

The proposed bill requires the agency to specify the types of crops that are regulated within the boundaries of control areas or excluded from them.

ODA must be “reasonable and just” in how it uses the authority and conduct a “careful investigation” before creating control areas, according to the bill.

Oregonians for Food and Shelter plans to oppose the legislation in its current form, said Paulette Pyle, grass roots director for the agribusiness industry group.

ODA’s control area authority was intended for managing diseases, weeds and pests, not biotech crops, she said.

“For now, it’s a no go for us,” Pyle said. “Right now, we don’t see any need for it.”

Kitzhaber likely proposed the bill to assuage GMO critics who opposed legislation he introduced in 2013 that pre-empted most local government from regulating genetically engineered crops, she said.

“He’s trying to make the organic folks feel protected because they feel like they’re not right now,” Pyle said, noting that any bill will be subject to amendments. “We’re all going to be involved.”

Richard Whitman, Kitzhaber’s natural resources policy director, said he’s still consulting with members of the governor’s task force on genetic engineering and other industry stakeholders about GMO legislation.

The final language of the bill hasn’t yet been nailed down, but the basic concept is to create a voluntary process to resolve conflicts between farmers who grow organic, conventional and biotech crops, Whitman said.

The system would not be foisted upon growers without their agreement, he said.

“It’s not really trying to dictate a particular result,” Whitman said. “That should be dictated by the people on the ground.”

Friends of Family Farmers, which supports stronger biotech regulation, believes it would be a good idea to make clear that ODA retains the ability to create control areas for genetically engineered crops after they’re deregulated by USDA.

“That seems like an important clarification of the agency’s authority,” said Ivan Maluski, its policy director.

Maluski said he can’t comment on a possible voluntary coexistence process for growers of biotech, organic and conventional crops because he has not seen the actual legislative language.

Any coexistence measures between farmers are already voluntary, he said. “I’m not sure how it would be different from the current system.”

Willamette Valley farmers concerned about crop damage caused by geese will get a chance this month to talk it over with the wildlife officials who oversee management of the birds.

The Polk County Farm Bureau is hosting a discussion with representatives from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 10 a.m. to noon at Rock-N-Rogers cafe, 670 S. Pacific Highway West, in Rickreall.

Crop damage from migrating and resident geese has been a problem for years, but farmers believe the problem is getting worse. They maintain the geese population is healthy, especially cackling Canada geese, and would like more leeway in hunting and hazing them off fields.

Migrating geese are managed under a treaty that involves several states, Canada and Native American tribes, which makes tweaking the plan difficult. The Pacific Flyway Management Plan contains a population estimate goal for cackling Canada Geese of 250,000 birds. Since 1999, when the plan was last updated, the population estimate for cacklers has exceeded the goal six times, according to USFWS.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act limits hunting to 107 days between March 10 and Sept. 1, according to USFWS. Farmers can obtain “depredation permits” to take 20 cacklers out of season, but changes to hunting regulations have to originate with the Pacific Flyway Council.

Flocks of geese cause significant crop damage. Some producers assign employees to drive from field to field to haze geese.

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) — Eastern Oregon and western Idaho already produce many of the nation’s decorative pumpkins. Now an economic development official is exploring whether the area could support production of pumpkin seeds for healthy snack foods.

At least one food company is seeking a U.S. producer of pumpkin seeds, said Kit Kamo, director of the Snake River Economic Development Alliance. American retailers prefer to buy domestic foods, but most pumpkin seeds in snack foods come from China, she said.

Kamo says there are local farmers interested in growing the seeds, and a researcher from Oregon State University is developing a cost estimate for producing and handling them. The findings will help determine whether seed pumpkins — which are distinct from decorative pumpkins and those grown for pumpkin pie — would be economically viable in Malheur County, Oregon and southwest Idaho.

“We feel there is a potential,” she told The Argus Observer of Ontario, Oregon.

Kamo said she met with officials from Kathie’s Kitchen, which produces the SuperSeedz brand of seasoned or flavored pumpkin seeds.

The seeds are harvested wet and will need to be washed and dried so they can be stored, she said. The seeds can be substituted in some applications for soy products, for people who are allergic to soy.

Pumpkin seeds aren’t the only potential new crop for the Western Treasure Valley. Most sunflower seeds used in snacks are also grown in China and may present another opportunity for farmers in the Treasure Valley, Kamo said.

At an wheat and seed production meeting Jan. 6, Oregon State University plant pathologist Chris Mundt warned growers that stripe rust could strike wheat early this year.

Those concerns now have materialized.

Mundt and three extension researchers issued an alert Jan. 19 informing growers that they have found stripe rust in early-planted experimental plots and commercial fields, beginning with sightings Jan. 7-12, three weeks earlier than ever previously recorded. The alert described “early-planted fields” as those planted in September through the first 10 days of October.

The researchers found rust on individual leaves of the wheat varieties Goetze, WB 1529, Foote and Kaseberg. Also, Mundt, Extension Cereals Specialist Mike Flowers, and Willamette Valley Extension agents Nicole Anderson and Clare Sullivan reported that rust had not developed in easy-to-spot hot spots, so it may be difficult for growers to identify infected fields.

Doing so, however, may be vital for growers to maximize yields.

With mild winter temperatures creating an ideal environment for early rust development, Willamette Valley wheat could be highly susceptible to significant yield losses this year, Mundt said.

“The largest field losses occur when stripe rust starts early,” he said. “You don’t want the rust to get ahead of you.”

The researchers are recommending that fields planted prior to Oct. 15 to susceptible or moderately susceptible varieties, such as Goetze, Tubbs 06, Mary, Kaseberg, SY Ovation and LCS Art Deco should be scouted and may require an early fungicide treatment.

“Early sprays will likely not be required on resistant varieties such as Bobtail and Rosalyn,” according to the alert, “but these varieties should still be scouted to guard against the potential for new rust races to appear.”

The alert noted that December temperatures were 5 degrees above normal, and that December temperatures are “a crucial driver of stripe rust.” Mild December temperatures facilitate pathogen survival and shorten its generation time, according to the alert.

“The early start to the rust season may allow for an extra generation of disease increase, a critical factor for rapidly spreading rusts,” the alert states.

The researchers noted that rust has not been seen in later-planted, direct-tilled fields nor in the northern Willamette Valley, but that it is expected to occur in both.

“Weather in the remainder of the year can still influence rust, but the early start of the rust season suggests that vigilance be called for in 2015,” the alert states.

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Wapato cherry grower and long-time chairman of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Jim Doornink, has been crowned 71st king of the Pacific Northwest cherry industry.

The honor was bestowed by past cherry kings at the annual Cherry Institute, in Yakima, Jan. 16. Doornink was chosen for years of commitment and service to the industry.

Now 63, Doornink ran his first cherry harvest at his family’s orchard when he was 14, thrust into the role one summer morning when the ranch foreman quit.

Doornink worked on the ranch through high school. When attending Washington State University, he would put on his work clothes before leaving Pullman so he could jump right into work the moment he was home, B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, revealed in announcing Doornink’s coronation.

“Put simply, our king has a passion for God, family and tree fruit,” Thurlby said, also noting his enthusiasm for technology.

“It’s a great honor to get some recognition from the industry you love,” Doornink said in accepting the award.

“It’s been a great ride and I hope to enjoy it for a long time to come,” he said.

He then quickly issue three decrees.

That 2015 is the year of the cherry. That it will be a good cherry year and that it won’t rain on the crop.

YAKIMA, Wash. — Celebrating their largest crop and profitable prices from the 2014 season, Pacific Northwest cherry growers expect a slightly smaller 2015 crop because of freeze damage to cherry trees in Oregon.

The region produced a record 23.2-million, 20-pound boxes of cherries in 2014. It likely will be closer to 20 million this year, B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers, said at the trade association’s 72 annual Cherry Institute at the Yakima Convention Center, Jan. 16.

“Oregon was over 4 million boxes of cherries last year. It’s hard to say where it will be this year. I would expect 2.5 million,” Thurlby said.

Temperatures crashed as much as 60 degrees in just a couple of days in mid-November killing flower buds, spurs and even 1-, 2- and 3-year-old wood in cherry trees in The Dalles, Hood River and Milton-Freewater, said a panel of speakers led by Lynn Long, Oregon State University Extension tree fruit specialist at The Dalles.

Snow cover, not present farther north, contributed to the heat loss, Long said.

Severity of damage depends on winter, spring and early summer weather, said Gip Redman, a Wapato, Wash., grower and vice president of field services for Oregon Cherry Growers, the region’s largest briner in Salem.

“We know the damage is more severe than in a long time. I don’t think it will be quite as bad as 1955,” he said.

Severity should be pretty well known two to four weeks after spring bloom, Redman said. Fruitlets could form and drop off and cherries that do make it could be too small, he said.

A late February freeze in 1956 compounded a November 1955 freeze to damage many orchards, he said.

Bacterial cankers and other disease can set into trees from such a freeze and take years to overcome, Long said.

Cherry trees in the lower Yakima Valley suffered lighter damage, Redman said, urging growers there to sample buds and spurs.

Mike Omeg, a grower in The Dalles, said thoroughly sampling buds and spurs was more depressing than paying bills and that he will reduce pruning to try to have more crop to hopefully make picking worth the cost.

The institute luncheon speaker, Chris Balzer, associate director of Nielsen Perishables Group, Chicago, said an extra 45 million pounds of cherries sold between late July and early August in 2014 shows consumers are ready for more.

Health-conscious, middle-income to affluent couples, age 55 to 75, make up most of the 25 percent of consumers who buy cherries, he said. As consumer demand for fresh produce grows there are more touch points for cherries, he said.

For example, research shows consumer purchasing of ice cream, yogurt and mustard rises and falls with cherries, he said. So ads that feature cherries with ice cream or yogurt should resonate with consumers, he said. Mustard fits with hot dogs and hamburger grilling on the Fourth of July when shoppers usually buy cherries, he said. So ads tying cherries to barbecues with mustard are appropriate, he said.

Another example is using cherries at juice, yogurt and cereal or breakfast bars becoming more common in stores, he said.

Another issue, Balzar said, is driving demand to the 75 percent of consumers who don’t buy cherries. They are budget shoppers who view cherries as too expensive, he said. Smaller, more convenience packaging might reach them, he said.

James Michael, promotions director of Northwest Cherry Growers, said overall ad pricing was strong in 2014, averaging $3.52 per pound for dark, sweet cherries in stores in June, $2.95 in July and $3.80 in August.

Social media, in-store radio ads, print ads and in-hand demos of product, stressing cherries as low-level anti-inflamatory health protection help drive sales, he said.

Talk about higher education. Oregon State University — once known as “Oregon Straight” compared to the supposedly hipper school 40 miles south — is offering a marijuana policy class this winter.

About 50 students are enrolled in “Marijuana Policy in the 21st Century,” a sociology course developed by Seth Crawford, an instructor in the School of Public Policy within the College of Liberal Arts.

Students will produce a collectively-authored paper of their recommendations on how marijuana should be produced, sold and distributed when recreational pot use, possession and cultivation becomes legal in Oregon July 1.

Oregon voters approved a measure in November that legalized possession and sale of pot and pot products, and allows people to grow limited amounts of marijuana as well. The class recommendations will go to the Oregon Health Authority and to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which will set the state’s pot rules.

Crawford, the instructor, is considered an expert on policies and the marijuana market structure in Oregon. He’s a member of the state’s Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana.

In a news release, Crawford said students “will be working with policymakers and stakeholders to help answer some of the biggest questions facing the state following the passage of Measure 91.”

No word yet on whether OSU’s Crop Science experts will be involved.

The Washington-Oregon Potato Conference offers updates from state and national agencies, researchers — and a chance to become one of the best potato peelers in the West.

The annual conference will be Jan. 27-29 at the Three Rivers Convention Center and neighboring Toyota Center in Kennewick, Wash.

The trade show has expanded to include another 40 vendors, up to 140 from 100 last year, said Ryan Holterhoff, director of marketing and industry affairs with the Washington State Potato Commission in Moses Lake, Wash.

Holterhoff expects roughly 1,800 people to participate in the annual event.

“The Washington-Oregon Potato Conference is one of the premier potato shows in North America,” Holterhoff said. “Each year we are able to provide a lineup of speakers that have relevant topics and who cover timely issues that the industry cares about.”

Charles Fishman, a former reporter for the Washington Post and Orlando Sentinel, will deliver the keynote address. Fishman is the author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water” and “The Wal-Mart Effect.”

“As a result of his efforts in writing (“The Big Thirst”), he has investigated and explored water issues around the globe,” Holterhoff said. “He will bring an interesting view and share some of the experiences from his work.”

USDA Agricultural Research Service researcher Stewart Gray and University of Idaho researcher Alex Karasev will present the latest research and developments with potato virus Y, potato mop top virus and tobacco rattle virus that can cause damage in potato tubers, said Andy Jensen, manager of the Northwest Potato Research Consortium and president of the Potato Association of America.

The Jan. 29 agenda includes new information about potato psyllid that may help with zebra chip management, Jensen said. Jensen and the USDA ARS researchers Jenita Thinakaran and Rodney Cooper are slated to talk about psyllids.

The event features the first annual potato peel-off at 2 p.m. Jan 27 in the Toyota Center exhibit hall. Teams of three will have 90 seconds to see how many potatoes they can peel.

The event “is a chance for one team to be crowned as the best potato peeling team in Washington and Oregon,” Holterhoff said. “The winning team will take home a lot of bragging rights and a traveling trophy.”

To enter, contact Brandy Parker at the potato commission, at 509-765-8845.

The U.S. Department of Labor will return money previously paid by Oregon blueberry growers and drop lawsuits accusing them of “hot goods” labor law violations.

The agency will also pay an additional $30,000 to each of the two farms — Pan-American Berry Growers and B&G Ditchen — as part of a recent legal settlement.

The farms have agreed to withdraw their counterclaims against DOL and neither party is admitting to any liability under the deal.

Tim Bernasek, attorney for the growers, said his clients are relieved the dispute has finally ended and are satisfied with the settlement terms.

“They are very appreciative of the support the industry has given them,” Bernasek said.

Capital Press was unable to reach DOL for comment.

The controversy was sparked in 2012, when the agency claimed the farmers had paid pickers less than the minimum wage and threatened to block their shipments of blueberries as unlawfully harvested “hot goods.”

Rather than fight DOL’s findings in court — and risk losing millions of dollars of fruit — the growers agreed to pay $220,000 in alleged back wages and penalties so the agency would lift its “hot goods” objection.

Last year, however, a federal judge overturned those consent decrees because they had been signed under economic duress by the farmers, who had to waive their right to challenge DOL’s minimum wage violation claims.

When those deals were overturned, the farmers were prepared to fight the DOL’s allegations that they employed unrecorded “ghost workers” who helped other pickers harvest berries. Because pickers are paid on a piece rate, the agency claimed they received less than the minimum wage.

Agency records uncovered by the Oregon Farm Bureau showed that DOL based its accusations on a formula that assumed pickers who harvested more than a certain amount of blueberries per hour were assisted by such “ghost workers.”

The Farm Bureau claimed the formula was flawed, since workers can actually pick much larger amounts, and said DOL had scant evidence of wrongdoing by the growers.

Records show that DOL was unable to identify the vast majority of the 1,000 “ghost workers” that it claimed worked at the farms.

Even so, the legal dispute between DOL and the farmers threatened to escalate last year.

The agency argued that it couldn’t return $73,500 that had already been disbursed to workers while the farms demanded full repayment and $150,000 in damages for diminished fruit quality.

DOL also refiled complaints against the farms, adding new charges of wrongdoing going back farther in time and naming additional defendants.

In November 2014, though, the agency asked for the litigation to be delayed because it had entered settlement talks with the growers.

LANGLOIS — The Langlois Public Library has hired a new library director, Karen Schaefer. Karen comes to Langlois via Port Orford, when she moved from Arizona in 2005. She has spent most of her…

SALEM, Ore. — Emma Miller, representing Linn and Benton counties, was crowned the 2015 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador during ceremonies Saturday night.

The 56th annual coronation was hosted by the Oregon Dairy Women at the Red Lion Hotel in Salem. Miller was among six county contestants vying for the 2015 title. Megan Sprute, representing Washington County was named first alternate, according to a press release.

Miller, 20, originally from Independence, is a student at Oregon State University where she is studying agricultural sciences in hopes of becoming a high school agriculture educator.

“I am passionate about agriculture,” Miller said in the press release. “I hope to help students find their passion as well.”

In college, she is actively involved in the Oregon State Dairy Club, the Agricultural Education Club and is second vice president of Sigma Alpha, a professional agricultural sorority.

Her speech during the contest, titled “Dairy Farming and America’s Future Generations,” discussed her passion and appreciation for the hard-working dairy farmers who produce one of her favorite things, milk. Miller spent two days in interviews, giving impromptu speeches and interacting with the three judges before she was selected.

Miller will spend the next 12 months traveling statewide attending fairs, town meetings and public events as a representative of Oregon’s dairy farmers. Much of her reign will be spent in Oregon elementary schools delivering educational presentations about life on a dairy farm and the nutritional benefits of consuming dairy products.

Upon being crowned, Miller received over $3,000 in scholarships. Outgoing Dairy Princess-Ambassador Danielle Bull received over $14,000 for her year. She met with over 15,000 students, telling them of the benefits of dairy products and about life on a dairy farm.

Megan Sprute, representing Washington County, was named first alternate Oregon dairy princess-ambassador. Also a recipient of scholarships, Sprute will assist in the promotion of the dairy industry throughout the state in the coming year. Courteney Ellis of Clackamas County was voted by her peers to receive the congeniality award, .

The other finalists included Teri McGettigan of Columbia County, Sara Pierson of Marion County and Charish Ingram of Tillamook County.

Oregon Dairy Women is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization with the main objective to promote the dairy industry.

New Library Director in Langlois

An agreement about the key functions of a $10 million Oregon water supply fund was struck recently, but the specific rules have yet to be ironed out.

Two task forces spent five months negotiating over the basic operations of the fund, which state lawmakers approved in 2013.

The groups have now answered fundamental questions about the level of environmental scrutiny for water storage projects and the process for developers to obtain money.

In the coming months, though, a new committee must turn those concepts into detailed rules that meet the approval of state water regulators.

Only then can the $10 million fund begin disbursing grants and loans to water projects in the state.

The funds were originally supposed to become available by the spring of 2015 but that timeline now looks onerous under even the most optimistic scenario.

A rulemaking advisory committee, which is expected to consist of former task force members, will try to hammer out the specifics by early April, then receive public comments and submit its proposal to the Oregon Water Resources Commission in June.

This schedule is particularly challenging because the rulemaking process will coincide with the upcoming legislative session, a busy time for task force members who lobby for various interest groups.

While task force members have outlined concepts for governing the fund, tricky details must still be haggled over.

For example, the system for determining whether projects are worthy of funding is subject to further debate.

During the final task force meeting on Jan. 16, members agreed they have not yet reached consensus on scoring and ranking methods and decided to temper recommendations for such a system in a report to legislators.

They also decided to shelve discussions about handling projects that request a disproportionately large portion of the $10 million in available funds.

Recommendations for how lawmakers should vet future state-funded water projects were scrapped from the report after some members said such suggestions exceed the scope of the task force.

“We can’t tell folks in the capitol how to do things,” said April Snell, executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Congress.

The most contentious aspect of the water supply fund pertains to the amount of water that can be withdrawn from streams during peak flow periods.

The topic is controversial because irrigators don’t want burdensome environmental hurdles to discourage developers from using the fund.

Most task force members have agreed that projects will be analyzed based on a “matrix” of possible environmental impacts and available stream data. Those with major potential effects on streams that haven’t been closely studied will receive the most scrutiny.

A couple of task force members who represent irrigators did not endorse this strategy, but they remained neutral and so the proposal will now move forward to rulemaking.