A rural Oregon brewery remains operational despite a major zoning problem but hopes that altering land use rules will offer a long-term fix.

Earlier this year, the tasting room at Agrarian Ales near Eugene, Ore., was temporarily shut down by Lane County officials, partly because its activities aren’t allowed in an “exclusive farm use” zone.

County officials also said the building wasn’t up to code for public occupancy, which Agrarian Ales has provisionally rectified by barring visitors from sitting beneath a roof overhang and instead steering them toward picnic tables on the property.

The zoning predicament also has a makeshift solution — while the brewery applies for a special use permit to run the tasting room, the county isn’t penalizing it for land use violations in the meantime.

“Lane County, on the face of it, says it’s interested in seeing this business continue,” said Stephen Harrell, the company’s farm manager.

To comply with building codes, the company is raising money through an online “Kickstarter” campaign to build a new tasting room equipped with fire suppression sprinklers, lighted exit signs and other elements.

On the land use front, Agrarian Ales wants to carve out an exemption for small breweries in Oregon’s statewide land use law, providing them with similar flexibility as wineries and cideries on farmland.

Under a proposed revision to Oregon statutes, brewpubs could be sited in “exclusive farm use” zones if they annually generate fewer than 50,000 gallons of beer, with at least half the hops or grains grown within 10 miles of the property.

That proposal was floated late during the 2018 legislative session and didn’t gain traction, but Harrell is hopeful a similar idea will prove more successful next year.

Limiting the size of brewpubs on farmland could alleviate concerns about large commercial operations, he said.

“You couldn’t run the Sierra Nevada Brewery on EFU land,” Harrell said, referring to a well-known craft brewery with widespread distribution.

Agrarian Ales already grows all the hops used in its beer and is well under the annual production cap proposed earlier this year.

However, even wineries and cideries still face some ambiguities in land use law, such as the ability to serve food, Harrell said.

“It’s subjective,” he said. “It’s not an objective set of standards,” he said.

Most wineries cannot house full restaurants under land use rules, but the Oregon Liquor Control Commission requires food to be served at drinking establishments, he said.

“You’re looking at two regulatory bodies that ostensibly are conflicting,” Harrell said.

Sen. Lee Beyer, D-Springfield, said he has commitments from agricultural and conservation groups to discuss the issue and believes it’s “realistic” a change can be made in 2019.

“I would assume the biggest objects would be that we keep the size of these relatively small and tied to farm uses onsite,” he said.

Similar agritourism activities on farmland have spurred the growth of Oregon’s wine industry, Beyer said. “You can’t develop a wine industry if you don’t have tasting rooms.”

1,000 Friends of Oregon, a farmland conservation group, is “definitely open to conversations” about an exemption for brewery agritourism “with the appropriate sideboards,” said Meriel Darzen, its staff attorney.

The details will be critical, since a brewpub operating until midnight every night of the week, for example, may create traffic or other problems for neighboring farmers, she said.

“Depending on the scale, you’re talking about something that can have significant impacts on surrounding farm uses,” Darzen said.

Taiwan recently made two small purchases of western white wheat, the first in years, according to the Washington Grain Commission.

Three years ago, when club wheat supplies were tight and prices were high, Taiwan stopped buying western white wheat, which is a blend of club wheat and soft white wheat. Instead, it bought only low-protein soft white wheat, said Glen Squires, grain commission CEO.

Club wheat is a subclass of the soft white wheat primarily grown in the Pacific Northwest. It has a more compact head, giving it a clubbed appearance, and has weak gluten and lower protein levels.

Buyers in Taiwan did not return to western white when club wheat prices went down again, Squires said. The commission visited with a Taiwanese team last summer.

The commission provided a 20-ton container of club wheat to Taiwan buyers, with U.S. Wheat Associates milling consultant Peter Lloyd demonstrating its benefits during a seminar.

The goal was to get Taiwan to resume buying western white or club wheat, Squires said.

Club wheat’s weak gluten strength is perfect for the popular sponge cakes Taiwan customers make, Squires said.

“In a hard red winter, hard red spring or even soft white, as the protein increases, the gluten strength increases,” he said. “But with club wheat, as the protein goes up, the gluten strength remains the same.”

Historically, Taiwan purchases a blend of western white that’s 80 percent soft white wheat and 20 percent club. Specifics on the shipments, including data on the blend percentage, are not yet available, Squires said.

Squires projects 195,000 acres of club wheat are being grown this year in the Pacific Northwest. Last year, club wheat production totaled about 218,000 acres. Club wheat represented 4.6 percent of the region’s total production last year and 7.9 percent of Washington’s total production.

Club wheat acreage historically fluctuates with price premiums. Squires said some farmers raise club because it makes sense for them agronomically. He isn’t worried about a supply shortage.

Demand for club wheat could increase as the commission talks with overseas buyers in Thailand and South Korea. Japan is the largest buyer, and is expected to have strong demand.

“What we don’t know is exactly how (not) being in the (Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement) is going to reflect on club wheat yet,” Squires said.

Japan is in the TPP, but Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea are not.

The commission will visit with Taiwan buyers in May to encourage them to buy more, Squires said.

Increased demand creates upward pressure on price and reduces the risk of carryover stocks, he said.

“It’s taken a year, but I think it’s been worth it to expand that demand,” he said.

Local lakes: The Umpqua River Flycasters were out on Powers Pond last week and reported catching and releasing plenty of nice rainbow trout. One of the members told me that a black beaded nymph was working great. He first tried…

ROSEBURG, Ore. — Although the snowpack in the southern Cascade Mountains is only about half of normal, watermasters in the Rogue and Umpqua areas of Oregon are anticipating, as of mid-April, that there’ll be enough water for agricultural uses through the upcoming summer.

“I don’t anticipate a drought situation, but that’s not to say it couldn’t be super hot over the next couple of months,” said Shavon Haynes, the watermaster for the Upper Rogue District in Jackson County.

“Or maybe we’ll have even more rain over the next couple of months,” he added.

Haynes said that at this point, there appears to be enough water from Rogue and Applegate river flows and from stored water sources to meet anticipated needs.

Umpqua Basin Watermaster Susan Douthit said water users who have access to Galesville or Ben Irving reservoirs should expect a predictable supply of water because those two sources have plenty of water.

A late winter, with several snow storms in the mountains and rain showers in the valleys during March and into April, has been key in improving water conditions. January and February didn’t produce much precipitation and there were major concerns at that time about there being enough water for agricultural use during the rest of the year.

“Any water from a late winter, whether snow or rain, is valuable,” Douthit said. “It would be a much different situation now if we hadn’t gotten those storms. Even though late snow doesn’t contain as much water, a late winter is better than no winter.”

The east side of the southern Cascade Mountains, however, hasn’t fared as well and drought conditions have been declared for Klamath County.

For the state of Oregon, the Water Conditions Report as of April 9 indicated there was considerable improvement in snow water equivalent values in late March and early April. Although still below normal, the statewide average moved up to 71 percent. Two of the lowest values, however, are in the Rogue and Umpqua basins.

The report also noted that the Climate Prediction Center’s most recent three-month outlook indicates increased chances of above normal temperatures in the southern third of the state. The precipitation outlook for the same period indicates below normal amounts for most of the state.

Statewide stream flows improved to 75 percent of normal for March, up from 63 percent in February. On the west side of the Cascades for March, stream flows were at 92 percent. But stream flow forecasts for the spring and summer seasons continue to predict much lower than normal flows.

Douthit explained that last year at the end of March, there was a 46-inch snowpack with about 23 inches of water content. This year there was 32 inches of snow at the end of March with only 10.5 inches of water.

The Umpqua watermaster said 2017 was a good water year with plenty available through the summer. All of southwest Oregon had well over 100 percent of normal water in 2017.

While the Rogue/Umpqua basins were at 128 percent of normal in 2017, this year they are at 54 percent.

Douthit, however, said it is not shaping up “to be the worst year by any stretch of the imagination.”

Cattle rancher Andy Owens of Glendale, Ore., in southern Douglas County said the county-owned Galesville Reservoir “is a godsend to anybody with property that wouldn’t be worth much” if there wasn’t that source of stored water.

Roseburg area farmer Evan Kruse said he doesn’t recall a winter recovering like this one with the late storms.

“I’d rather have the late winter and water for the summer than no winter at all,” he said. “I’m not sure we’ll see any curtailments this year. I’m not stressing about it.”

Haynes said the wet April so far has resulted in irrigation districts in the Rogue Basin holding off on making water deliveries. He added water deliveries will probably be at least two weeks later than normal, beginning in late April or early May.

“That tells you how important these last few storms have been,” Haynes said.

He added that Mount Ashland Ski Area in the Siskiyou Mountains was opened the weekend of April 21-22, noting that is another indication that the late storms brought snow that is still holding at higher elevations and will eventually benefit stream flows, reservoirs and ponds.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A southern Oregon man has been ordered to pay over $23,000 in restitution for eluding police while high on methamphetamine, crashing through a fence and hitting two Angus bull yearlings.

The Mail Tribune reports 28-year-old Corey Elmore of Ashland pleaded guilty Monday to unauthorized use of a vehicle, fleeing police, driving under the influence of intoxicants and animal abuse.

Court documents say Elmore stole a pickup truck that had been idling Feb. 11 and fled when a deputy attempted to make a traffic stop. Documents say Elmore crashed through a fence and continued into a field, hitting the bulls before driving back onto the road. Documents say he then lost control, crashed through another fence and became stuck in a muddy field.

Documents say the bulls had to be put down.

Elmore was sentenced to 18 months of probation and had his license suspended.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Workers at a Burgerville in Southeast Portland have overwhelmingly approved the formation of a federally-recognized union.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports employees of the chain’s Southeast 92nd Avenue and Powell Boulevard location voted 18-4 in favor. Three workers abstained from voting. Workers cast ballots at the restaurant during a two-day election, which ended Monday night.

Organizers say the victory makes it the first federally recognized fast-food workers union in the country.

The results, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, will now legally require Burgerville to negotiate with the store’s workers, who have pushed for a wage increase, affordable health care and other benefits.

Burgerville spokeswoman Beth Brewer says the company supports the workers’ decision.

Burgerville has about 1,500 employees in Oregon and southern Washington state.

Some Eastern Washington lawmakers want the Snake River Dams to stay in place. They’ve crafted a bill to leave the dams as they are in response to a federal judge’s order to consider removing the dams to protect salmon. The bill, H.R. 3144, is expected to be voted on by the U.S. House this week.”Our legislation will keep in place the current collaborative framework that fosters fish recovery efforts while balancing the many economic contributions of our dams,” said Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse in a joint statement. Two years ago, a federal judge said the government was not doing enough to protect salmon. He wanted dam managers to think long and hard about ways to help the iconic fish, which have been struggling for decades to make it past dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. One option he asked dam managers to thoroughly consider was removing or altering the four Lower Snake River dams. “Despite billions of dollars spent on these efforts, the listed species continue to be in a perilous state,” U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon wrote. “The (Federal Columbia River Power System) remains a system that ‘cries out’ for a new approach.”

Breaching the Lower Snake River dams in southeastern Washington has been a heated debate for decades. And now, instead of debating it, several lawmakers want that option off the table. They’ve introduced legislation that would keep the federal government’s dam management plan (called the biological opinion and referred to in shorthand as a “bi-op” — rejected by Judge Simon) in place until 2022. Eastern Washington Republicans McMorris Rodgers and Newhouse say the dams are too important for agriculture, navigation and energy. “Rejecting the bi-op only hurts the people of Washington state and sets us back decades in our fight to protect fish and support clean energy,” Newhouse said at a press conference in the Tri-Cities last month. A recent study by an energy advocacy group suggested that the dams could be replaced by renewable energy — making this less a decision about energy, they said. Hydropower supporters say replacing the dams would mean more of the Northwest’s power would have to come from fossil fuel sources, like natural gas.

This legislation would also overturn Judge Simon’s decision to increase more spill over eight Columbia and Snake river dams. Simon ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to spill more water overtop the dams to help juvenile salmon that migrate out to the ocean. An appeals court recently affirmed Simon’s order to increase spill over the dams from April to mid-June. Opponents of the bill say it bypasses the judicial process and undermines the Endangered Species Act. “Congress should focus on actually helping this species recover, not undermining this process through backwards legislation not based on sound science or robust public processes. I will vote against this bill if it comes to the floor, and I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to do the same,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., in a statement. Environmental groups also strongly oppose the bill. “This legislative proposal is misguided, counter-productive and based on an extremely poor understanding of the plight of our salmon and any realistic changes to how Columbia Basin hydro-system would operate to better protect salmon,” said Bill Arthur, Sierra Club Chair, Columbia-Snake River Salmon Recovery Campaign, in an earlier statement.

The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife says its latest attempt to discourage savvy sea lions from feasting on native fish at Willamette Falls has proven to be an exercise in futility.

The agency reports more than 25 California sea lions and Steller sea lions continue to prey on salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and lamprey at the falls between West Linn and Oregon City.

ODFW spent five weeks in February and March relocating 10 California sea lions to a beach south of Newport, Ore., only to see the animals return within four to six days. One of the sea lions was even captured and relocated to the coast twice, but swam back both times.

Shaun Clements, ODFW senior policy adviser, said the problem is becoming increasingly dire as Upper Willamette Basin steelhead are pushed to the brink of extinction. This year’s run currently stands at 1,338 steelhead — slightly higher than 2017, but far below historic steelhead returns that often topped 10,000 fish.

Biologists estimate that California sea lions ate at least 18 percent of returning adult steelhead prior to March. ODFW applied in October 2017 to kill sea lions from Willamette Falls under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in order to protect threatened salmon and steelhead. Clements said they are still awaiting a final decision from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

“It’s our responsibility and mandate from the people of Oregon to ensure these fish runs continue,” Clements said. “So it’s incredibly frustrating to us that federal laws prevent us from taking the only steps effective at protecting these fish from predation.”

To be clear, Clements said predation is not the only thing harming fish in the Willamette Basin. Drought and operations at 13 federal dams have also had a sharp impact on the species’ survival. But unless wildlife managers are able to cull sea lions, Clements said all other actions to protect fish will not matter in the long run.

For example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intends to build a 300-foot-tall water temperature control tower and floating screen at Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River to improve fish survival. The project is estimated to cost between $100 million and $250 million, and could require draining Detroit Lake for up to two years, leaving farmers without critical irrigation supplies.

All that work would be for naught if sea lions are left to eat the fish to extinction, Clements said.

“Clearly our experience on the Willamette River this year demonstrated the futility of relocating sea lions as a way of stopping them from driving our native fish runs to extinction,” Clements said.

Since President Richard Nixon signed the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, Clements said the population of California sea lions has grown from around 70,000 to 300,000 individuals, and the Steller sea lion population has also increased from roughly 30,000 to 70,000.

With the population increase has come more sea lions to prey on freshwater fish runs in the Pacific Northwest. It started in the late 1980s at Ballard Locks in Seattle, Clements said, and by the 2000s sea lions had arrived at Willamette Falls.

Steelhead aren’t the only fish species at risk, Clements said.

“We also know that predation on white sturgeon has increased dramatically this year, and that sea lions are preying on salmon, steelhead and sturgeon in other rivers like the Sandy and Clackamas,” he said.

Clements said changes are needed to the law that would allow wildlife managers to be more proactive when it comes to dealing with sea lions. He said ODFW is working with Oregon’s congressional delegation on a possible solution.

In the meantime, the agency has decided to shift its focus to controlling sea lions at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, where they already have authorization to kill sea lions. ODFW does plan to leave its sea lion traps at Willamette Falls while continuing to monitor predation, but simply does not have enough staff to cover both locations.

It has been said the best way to get into farming is to “marry it or inherit it.” The risks are many and obstacles to entry are age-old — access to land, water, markets and capital. But regardless of whether new farmers married it, inherited it, or neither, one new barrier becoming increasingly problematic is student loan debt, according to the National Young Farmers Coalition.

The national organization conducted a survey of over 700 beginning and aspiring farmers and ranchers and found that student loan debt was a key obstacle to making a living in agriculture or getting started. More than half of respondents were currently farming but struggling to make their student loan payments on a farm income, and one third reported they didn’t pursue farming or were postponing a career in agriculture due to student loan debt. Among these respondents the average student loan debt was $35,000 — a lot for a greenhorn trying to get started on a farmer’s salary.

This survey reflects a national trend in student loan debt. One in five of all American households held some student loan debt according to a Pew Research Center study in 2012. The rates of student loan debt among young people are even higher — 37 percent for those 18 to 29 — and the typical college grads owes the equivalent of two years of income. Nationwide student loan debt has more than doubled to $1.3 trillion from 2004 to 2014. These numbers add up to a national crisis — one that also impacts young farmers and ranchers and the future of the agricultural landscape.

Caleb Howard is a young, part-time rancher and agriculture real estate broker in Joseph, Ore. He feels lucky he and his wife, Katie, left the University of Idaho with a manageable amount of student debt.

“I had a about $17,000 in debt, but if I had left school with $60,000 or $70,000, that would be a different story,” Howard, who studied rangeland management and animal science production, said. “Some students in the same program as me had triple the debt I had. If my wife and I were paying $600 to $700 per month in school debt, we couldn’t afford to farm.”

Student loans are what Howard called “bad debt” because these payments siphon funds away from starting, building, and growing farm businesses in rural communities.

Karie Walker, a Farm Services Agency loan officer in Pendleton, Ore., agrees student loan debt can impede borrowing and farmer success.

“High monthly [student loan] payments can funnel the borrower’s income in one direction and may not leave them with adequate amounts to make their annual farm loan payment,” she said.

While most federal student loans are on a 10-year repayment program, Walker notes that in the 1990s and early 2000s, many students ended up with much longer repayment plans.

“Hefty monthly payments can certainly affect the success of a new operation, especially knowing that they may affect the operation for up to 30 years,” she said.

Just as the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) survey found, people may be delaying a career in farming due to student loan debt. “We have a number of people that grew up farming or ranching, move to off-farm employment, then leave their careers to start farming later in life,” Walker said.

NYFC hopes to address the student loan debt barrier and get more farmers on the land is to add them to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The program was created in 2007 to help public service professionals such as teachers, nurses, public interest attorneys, government employees and nonprofit professionals pay off federal student debt and incentivize more people to join the public service ranks.

NYCF is pushing for farmers to be included on that list and for farming to be seen as a critical public service.

But is farming a public service?

“Farming offers a public service through food production and stewardship of natural resources that we share,” said Kate Greenberg, western program director for NYFC.

Given the importance of agriculture and the fact that only 6 percent of farmers are under age 35, Greenberg says farmers are a good match for the existing loan forgiveness program.

“Just as we have a critical shortage of new nurses, doctors, and social workers, we have a critical shortage of new farmers,” she said. “Farmers are absolutely critical. This program is one way to build out the pipeline to get more people farming.”

To qualify for the program under the NYCF proposal, new farmers would work full time on a farm that makes at least $35,000 and files a Schedule F tax forms, but would not have to own a business or land. “We wanted to be sure that the people who qualify are building a business or career in agriculture whether or not they own a business or own land,” she said. “We recognize that land access and ownership is not equitable across the country because of historical ag policy and discrimination.”

After 10 years of farming and on-time, income-based payments, the government would cancel the balance of the farmer’s federal student loans.

This approach to incentivizing farming is already being used in New York. The New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program offers loan repayment up to $50,000 for grads who start a farm business within two years of graduating from a New York university and operate their farm five years. So far the number of farmers in the program is small and funding is limited.

Greenberg says making farmers eligible for student loan repayment or forgiveness will support different entry points into agriculture.

“First, multi-generational family farm kids are currently at a crossroads between going to college and taking over the farm,” she said. “Many parents are encouraging kids to get an education, but loan forgiveness would allow them to not have to choose between the farm and a college education.”

Second, she notes that many new farmers are first generation farmers who don’t know they want to farm until they get a college education.

Third, she says, “You have to think about future farmers that may not even be born yet.” She argues the future norm could be much easier entry into farming. Loan forgiveness could help pave a pathway back to the farm and reverse the rural brain drain. “Being able to return with an education builds rural communities.”

What advice can aspiring farmers and ranchers take about managing student loan debt?

Northwest Farm Credit Services (FCS) Relationship Manager Andrea Krahmer said student loan debt is factored into assessing a borrower’s credit worthiness and the level of student debt matters. However, Krahmer also said Northwest FCS offers loan programs specifically for new and small farmers.

“We can be flexible with underwriting guidelines and extra student loan debt may still be OK with some positive offsetting credit factors,” she said.

Krahmer and FSA loan officer Karie Walker both advise that maintaining credit worthiness, regardless of the amount of student debt is key. So is paying student loan debt on time every time.

According to Krahmer, “it becomes even more important to use credit sources responsibly which includes having good credit scores and minimal other consumer debt beyond student loans.” Krahmer explained that student loan debt is not like a car loan, which has a physical asset to offset the loan liability. “Knowledge obtained from attending college is certainly an asset but not something that can be recorded on a financial statement.”

While he can’t put his college education on a balance sheet, young rancher Caleb Howard believes getting a bachelor’s degree was worth it. He also advises there are other options.

“I wouldn’t change my college experience for anything in the world, but maybe a trade school is better preparation for less money,” he said.

Until student loan forgiveness is widely available to new farmers and ranchers, Howard said you can get ahead of your debt while in school. “Get a part-time job. It will go miles.”

DIEPPE, France (AP) — The mayor of a city in France's Normandy region says a 103-year-old nun known as the "White Angel" to allied soldiers injured during a failed World War II raid has died.

SUNDAY, APRIL 22

SALEM — Oregon Ag Fest will honor three school groups Sunday, April 29, for their efforts to expand agricultural education in the state.

Receiving first place and a $1,000 award is the Urban Farm Program at College Hill High School in Corvallis. The Urban Farm gives at-risk freshmen and sophomores a real-life farm and business experience to develop their leadership, teamwork and problem-solving skills. This takes place on a half-acre with 30 laying hens, a farmers’ market stand and a student employment program that allows 3-4 students to work and run the urban farm stand from June to August.

Echo FFA will receive the $600 second-place award for its agricultural advocacy projects, which include partnering with Ag In the Classroom at the elementary schools, ag science activities with the middle school and a petting zoo for the community during FFA week in March.

Receiving the third-place award of $400 will be the North Powder Farm to School Program, which involves all grades of the school in garden and poultry production. Going on 9 years, it began as a way to bring fresh, local products into the school cafeteria and to teach children the origin of their food. The local food bank also utilizes products from the farm in its weekly food distribution.

The purpose of the Ag Fest Agricultural Education Award is to reward student organizations, nonprofit organizations or classrooms that promote and educate Oregonians about agriculture and extend the Oregon Ag Fest mission beyond its annual, two-day, interactive event.

“As Oregon Ag Fest celebrates 31 years of growing awareness for the importance of agriculture in our communities, we are proud to continue to support the agricultural education outreach efforts of nonprofit and student organizations this year,” Jake Wilson, Oregon Ag Fest chairman, said in a press release. “Oregon Ag Fest is dedicated to educating the public about the importance of agriculture, and we see this award as a way to encourage and support student groups that have programs and activities aimed to accomplish the same thing.”

The awards ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 29, on the main stage in the Jackman Long Building at the Oregon State Fairgrounds during the 31st Annual Oregon Ag Fest. Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor will present the awards.

The awards ceremony will top off a weekend of agricultural adventures at Ag Fest, which is in its 31st year.

Ag Fest is at the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem at 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 28, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, April 29. Children 12 and under are admitted free and parking is free. Admission is $9 for 13 and over.

All activities center around locally grown products, which allows families to learn about and celebrate the diverse world of Oregon agriculture.

“Our goal is to help kids gain a better understanding of the importance of agriculture to Oregon’s rural landscape, and to emphasize that most food starts on a farm somewhere and in Oregon we’re lucky enough to grow over 200 varieties of crops,” said Wilson, the Ag Fest chairman.

Members of the public can kick off their visit to Ag Fest from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 28, with an old-fashioned ranch-style breakfast. Included are hotcakes, ham, Oregon-grown fruit toppings, scrambled eggs, juice, coffee and milk prepared by Linn County 4-H groups. Cost is $6 for adults; children under 3 are free. Proceeds from the breakfast provide scholarships for 4-H camp and leader training.

Ag Fest is sponsored in part by Oregon Farm Bureau, Bob’s Red Mill, Oregon Dairy Women, Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon Women for Agriculture, among many others.

Online

www.oragfest.com

A federal judge has dismissed a financially distressed Oregon farm’s petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which protects companies against property foreclosure while they restructure debt.

During a April 20 court hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Renn said terminating bankruptcy proceedings for Carleton Farms of Klamath County is “wise” due to “unusual and extraordinary circumstances.”

The court hearing was initially intended to resolve a dispute over Carleton’s ability to use cash that serves as collateral for debt owed to its creditors.

The farm had also sought to recover real estate, machinery and other property that’s set to be sold off by a receiver.

However, attorneys for Carleton Farms withdrew those motions and asked to be taken off the case, citing a conflict of interest that cannot be disclosed under attorney-client privilege.

Keith Boyd, attorney for the farm, said a situation arose where they were informed the case could not go forward as a Chapter 11 reorganization.

“Debtor will consent to the dismissal of the case,” Boyd said.

Attorneys for Umpqua Bank, the farm’s largest creditor, and CFO Solutions, a receiver that’s taken control of the farm’s assets, agreed to the dismissal.

Prior to the court hearing, Umpqua Bank claimed the bankruptcy case should be dismissed because Carleton Farms wanted to undermine a receivership agreement to which it had previously consented.

Earlier this year, the farm had allowed a receiver, CFO Solutions, to take control of its assets after defaulting on about $17.5 million worth of loans to Umpqua Bank.

In its recently filed bankruptcy case, however, Carleton Farms wanted to compel the receiver to return nearly $4 million worth of assets that it claimed were necessary to continue agricultural operations.

The company also wanted permission from the bankruptcy court to use $510,000 to $870,000 of cash that serves as collateral to creditors.

Carleton Farms attributes its “severe economic difficulties” to the “aggressive” pursuit of cultivating organic potatoes and other crops, which have recently proven unprofitable due to lower prices.

At the time Carleton Farms agreed to the receivership, the company believed it could buy back the necessary equipment to continue farming but the money didn’t materialize, according to a court filing.

Unless the receiver turns over the equipment, the farm won’t be able to irrigate alfalfa hay, resulting in the loss of future cuttings, or prepare land for planting in the fall, the document said.

CFO Solutions, the receiver, objected to the farm’s request to use cash collateral and recover assets, arguing the company doesn’t have enough income to reorganize.

The receiver has already collected $1.5 million from the sale of the farm’s assets, according to a court filing.

5Carleton Farms filed for bankruptcy shortly before an auction was scheduled to sell of its equipment, which was called off “at great cost” to the receiver, Umpqua Bank and the auctioneer, the receiver said.

The request to return assets to Carleton Farms should be rejected because there’s evidence of “mismanagement,” including financial records in “disarray,” according to the objection.

“Based on the records that are available, Debtor has no demonstrated ability to manage a budget,” the document said.

The farm was a member of the Malin Potato Cooperative, a packing plant that closed in February, but “hundreds of tons” of Carleton potatoes processed at the facility “remain unaccounted for,” the receiver said.

Malin’s records indicate the packing facility owes Carleton $1.3 million but this debt does not show up at all in the farm’s books, according to the receiver’s objection.

“The records also indicate that Carleton Farms continued to process potatoes through Malin despite not being paid for several years,” the document said.

Ranchers and the federal government have defeated a 15-year-old environmentalist lawsuit that claimed grazing imperils threatened bull trout in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman has dismissed the complaint, which was originally filed by the Oregon Natural Desert Association and the Center for Biological Diversity in early 2003.

The environmental plaintiffs sought to prohibit livestock grazing on “units of concern” in seven allotments along the Malheur and North Fork rivers, arguing the waterways contain only 100 bull trout despite having the capacity for 4,000 of the protected fish.

Last year, however, U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak dealt the case a blow when he found that grazing authorizations hadn’t likely caused the decline in bull trout populations, which have suffered from the introduction of non-native fish, dam-building and other factors.

Mosman has now agreed with the recommendation to throw out the lawsuit because the plaintiffs haven’t established the U.S. Forest Service violated the National Forest Management Act and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by approving grazing plans.

Mac Lacy, attorney for ONDA, said the group is still reviewing the decision but is disappointed the “court failed to explain why it was reasonable for the Forest Service to collect, but then ignore” data regarding “riparian management objectives” under the agency’s strategy for preserving inland fish.

Ranchers who rely on the grazing allotments, which span tens of thousands of acres, intervened in the case to defend the government’s grazing authorizations.

A major point of contention in the case was whether the Forest Service was properly monitoring stream conditions to ensure grazing doesn’t degrade the bull trout’s habitat.

Lacy had argued the agency was relying on “proxy” data — such as grass stubble height and alteration to stream banks — that didn’t reflect worsening conditions in the waterways.

“These failures, to the extent they’re showing up in the record, are getting worse over time,” Lacy said during oral arguments last year.

Egg nests laid by bull trout are trampled by cattle, which also raise water temperatures to unhealthful levels by widening streams and denuding vegetation, the plaintiffs claimed.

Stephen Odell, attorney for the Forest Service, countered that the environmental plaintiffs were “cherry-picking” data from problematic “hot spots” that don’t represent broader conditions.

Forest Service scientists have determined streambank alteration and stubble height are useful measures of progress that show conditions are improving, he said.

“The record does not show ongoing negative effects from grazing,” Odell said during last year’s oral arguments.

Over the objections of the environmental groups, both judges overseeing the case agreed the Forest Service was permitted to analyze habitat health on the “watershed or landscape scale, rather than stream by stream.”

ROSEBURG, Ore. — OR54, an estimated 3-year-old female wolf, was in the Toketee Falls area of the North Umpqua River drainage on April 7. That’s about a 45-minute drive east of livestock pastures in eastern Douglas County.

OR54 is wearing a radio collar, allowing her whereabouts to be tracked by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists.

A couple days after being in the Toketee area, OR54 was farther south in the Cascade Mountains and being tracked in the Prospect, Ore., area of northern Jackson County.

John Stephenson, the lead wolf biologist in Oregon for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, said he believes the wolf dispersed from the Rogue pack and is looking for a mate. The Rogue pack was responsible for the mid-January killing of three yearling calves on Ted Birdseye’s ranch in the Prospect area.

The most recent movements of OR54 were explained to about 100 people at an April 12 Douglas County Livestock Association conference.

Livestock producers in southwest Oregon are concerned about possible wolf predation on their animals at a time when coyotes and cougars are already taking a toll. USDA wildlife specialists are also concerned because once a wolf pair or pack establishes itself in an area, the trappers are more regulated in how they go about setting and checking traps and using other measures intended to discourage coyotes and cougars.

“If wolves come into a livestock area, wildlife services staff and livestock owners will be notified,” said Paul Wolf, the USDA’s Southwest District supervisor for wildlife services. “Once wolves are there, we have to have 24-hour trap checks.”

Breakaway snares that will hold a coyote but that a larger wolf can free itself from must also be used. The use of M-44s, sodium cyanide capsules, will also be restricted.

In addition to OR54, there have also been unofficial sightings of wolves in the last year in the Mount Scott area that overlooks Glide, Ore., and in the Dixonville area several miles to the southwest. Livestock pastures are within a couple miles of where those wolves were reportedly seen.

“I think these livestock owners have a right to be concerned because another predator is on the landscape,” Wolf said. “When there’s one or two animals, you don’t need to be too alarmed about it, but when they form a pack, it creates another situation that could potentially be a threat to livestock.

“There’s nothing established now as far as I’m aware, but OR54 is moving, probably looking to pair up and eventually forming a pack,” he added.

Stephenson said he also understands the concerns of livestock owners. He encourages them to clean up any bone piles on their property, to have as much human presence on the property as possible and to have guard dogs with their livestock if possible.

“There’s no doubt wolves will colonize Douglas County, but I do expect that to be in the far eastern part of the county,” Stephenson said. “In the valleys around Roseburg, I think the risk of wolves there is pretty low.”

Wolf and Stephenson explained that it is important when a possible sighting of a wolf is made that it is reported immediately to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. If possible, the animal or its tracks should be photographed and reported.

The same applies when dead livestock is found. In addition to the confirmed wolf kills near Prospect in January, the Rogue pack killed some calves in 2016 in the Wood River Valley north of Klamath Lake in Klamath County.

Birdseye, the Prospect rancher who lost the calves to wolves, said since a hot wire with red flagging was installed for 2.5 miles around his pastures, he has lost no more livestock. He also now has two English mastiff dogs roaming his pastures.

He has, however, heard wolves howl out in the forest at night. In mid-March, he awoke to a wolf’s howl at about 3:30 in the morning and then heard a yelp.

“Evidently that wolf hit the hot wire,” Birdseye surmised.

The rancher said he will be concerned about the safety of his cattle when he turns them out onto a U.S. Forest Service allotment in northern Jackson County in early June. He hopes any wolves in that area will follow migrating deer and elk to higher elevations and leave his livestock alone.

Veril Nelson, a cattle rancher east of Sutherlin, Ore., and the co-chair of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association’s wolf committee for Western Oregon, said the group’s main focus for his half of the state is to pressure U.S. Fish and Wildlife to delist the wolves.

“As long as wolves are listed, ranchers don’t have any way of protecting their livestock other than using non-lethal means,” he said. “The only way you can shoot at one is if it is attacking you. With the non-lethal controls, they work for a little while, but then if the wolves are prone to livestock, they’ll attack them again.”

Nelson said it is important to document any wolf activity and to get that information to the state and federal agencies. He added that collaring more wolves will also help in keeping track of them and in turn will give livestock owners some warning as to the animals’ location.

Birdseye expects there’ll be more wolf-livestock conflicts in southwestern Oregon in the future.

“That’s the reality of it,” he said. “Can livestock producers absorb those losses? Should we have to absorb those losses?

“We need to continue to educate ourselves on wolves and at the same time try to educate the people who are on the other side of the fence,” he added. “We’ve got a federally endangered predator on the landscape, and whose responsibility is it to keep the wolves where they need to be? Is it my responsibility to put up fencing around my place or is it the feds’? I don’t know many hours of sleep I’ve lost being concerned about wolves.”

As farmers begin to plant the 2018 potato crop, about one-third of last year’s crop remains in storage, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service reports. That percentage is on par with last year.

Last season, farmers grew fewer acres of potatoes than the previous year, Idaho Potato Commission President and CEO Frank Muir said.

Idaho, which produces nearly one-third of the nation’s potatoes, grew 131.3 million hundredweight last year, down from 2016 production of 139.3 million hundredweight. About 38 percent of the 2017 crop remains in storage.

Washington, the second-largest potato producer, had a crop of 99.0 million hundredweight and has 30 percent of its crop remaining.

Oregon grew 21.4 million hundredweight and has one-third of its crop remaining.

Overall, NASS said the 13 major potato-production states held 133.6 million hundredweight in storage April 1, up 2 percent from a year ago.

Potato disappearance, at 266 million hundredweight, was down 3 percent. Season-to-date shrink and loss, at 19 million hundredweight, was down 8 percent.

In the eight largest potato-processing states, processors had used 146 million hundredweight for the season as of April 1, up 1 percent from a year earlier, NASS reported.

In Idaho and in Malheur County, Ore., processors had used 54.1 million hundredweight for the season as of April 1, down 1 percent from a year earlier.

In other Oregon counties and the state of Washington combined, processors used 61.8 million hundredweight for the season, also down slightly.

Dehydrated usage accounted for 25.8 million hundredweight of the total processed, down 3 percent.

In Wilder, Idaho, Doug Gross grows potatoes for the fresh market and for processing. He expected to start planting April 19.

“We are right on schedule with a normal year,” he said, referring to his potato plantings. He sees good planting conditions on his southwest Idaho farm, including soil temperatures on track with 10-year averages.

Gross said adequate water bodes well for production, but final 2018 results will depend largely on summer growing conditions and weather.

“We just have to see what the weather brings,” he said.