PORTLAND — Environmentalists are urging a federal judge not to throw out a lawsuit they filed 15 years ago alleging that grazing harms the threatened bull trout in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest.

Last year, a federal magistrate judge found the Oregon Natural Desert Association and Center for Biological Diversity had failed to prove that livestock grazing along two rivers in the forest is to blame for the protected species’ decline.

The plaintiffs have objected to his recommended dismissal of their complaint, which was originally filed more than 15 years ago.

During oral arguments held April 5 in Portland, the environmental groups asked U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman to instead rule that grazing authorizations along the Malheur and North Fork Malheur rivers violated federal laws.

Fewer than 50 bull trout now inhabit each of the waterways, which together should support about 2,000 of the fish, said Mac Lacy, attorney for the plaintiffs.

The U.S. Forest Service has authorized livestock grazing on seven allotments covering tens of thousands of acres without analyzing the site-specific effects as required by law, Lacy said.

In recommending the lawsuit’s dismissal, the magistrate judge incorrectly found that attainment of “riparian management objectives” for the fish can be measured at the “watershed or landscape scale,” the plaintiffs claimed.

The agency cannot decide it has met these objectives based on “habitat indicators” that don’t mirror reality while ignoring actual measurements that show stream conditions are worsening, Lacy said.

Grazing must be suspended if it prevents a “near natural rate of recovery” under the National Forest Management Act, while the Forest Service faces a similar obligation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, according to the plaintiffs.

“It’s not just a non-degradation requirement,” Lacy said. “It’s an enhancement requirement.”

Stephen Odell, attorney for the government, argued that it’s up to the Forest Service to decide how best to measure compliance with recovery strategies for the fish.

The agency has relied on the most relevant data collected over thousands of hours, he said. “It’s extremely rigorous.”

Riparian management objectives are “dream stream” benchmarks that would exist under ideal conditions and are meant to measure progress, Odell said.

However, the Forest Service doesn’t have to attain these standards to comply with its recovery strategies for the bull trout, he said.

Odell also revived an argument against the environmentalist lawsuit that was rejected by the magistrate judge.

The plaintiffs have challenged more than 100 agency decisions regarding grazing, which amounts to an improper attempt to change the Forest Service’s entire grazing program, he said. Such “programmatic” revisions are meant to occur during rule-making or in Congress, not in federal court.

Instead of finding faults specific to each of the actions, the plaintiffs make the same “blanket assertion” to challenge all of them, Odell said.

Just two weeks after completing the first Resource Education and Agricultural Leadership Program, otherwise known as REAL Oregon, Matt Mattioda was able to put his newly refined skills to the test.

Mattioda, who works as the chief forester for Miller Timber Services in Philomath, Ore., was informed by a client that Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read was interested in touring a project site to better understand how trees are harvested on the landscape.

“I had a chance to show him what we’re doing,” Mattioda said of the visit. “If we don’t reach out and engage folks ... then whatever comes our way, we’re just going to have to deal with it.”

Thanks to REAL Oregon, Mattioda said he is comfortable advocating for his industry to a high-ranking state official. The program was conceived by businesses to engage natural resources professionals in career and leadership training — everything from government relations and conflict resolution to public speaking and presentation.

Over the course of five months, Mattioda and 29 others attended two-day sessions around the state, each with a local focus. The first class graduated March 8, which included 10 agricultural producers, three forestry workers, four government employees and 13 people from natural resource support industries.

In addition to leadership training, Mattioda said REAL Oregon provided an opportunity to network and build bridges across industries.

“I have really grown to appreciate what other folks do in natural resources, whether you’re a rancher or a farmer,” Mattioda said. “We’re all in this together. Even if some folks have differences in opinion, let’s rally around and focus on those things we have in common.”

REAL Oregon was established in 2017 and is similar to programs in 34 other states around the country, including neighboring Washington and Idaho. Greg Addington, program director, said the sessions are meant to break people out of their “silos,” and understand the bigger picture for natural resources.

In hindsight, Addington said the first year could not have gone any better.

“I think we’re on to something here,” he said. “There’s a big need for it in the state.”

Addington, who owns a consulting company in Klamath Falls, Ore., and is the former executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association, said he already has a list of more than 200 names recommended for future classes. He is now working on the application and curriculum for the class of 2018-19.

Last year’s program kicked off in November with a trip to Ontario, Ore., where participants learned about production agriculture. The group then traveled to Newport in December for a session on commercial fisheries; Medford in January for timber; Salem in February for the short legislative session; and Pendleton and Boardman in March for irrigated farming and livestock.

“The networking that occurs with such a diverse group of people is just awesome to watch,” Addington said.

Megan Thompson, director of field services for Cascade Cherry Growers and Sage Fruit Co. in The Dalles, Ore., said the networking was especially valuable for her.

“At some point, we’re all fighting a very similar fight,” Thompson said. “We all have similar causes, and similar drives, and we all need to work together for those causes.”

Thompson added the field trips they took on location further drove home the point.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I think it’s made 30 new advocates for agriculture.”

More information about REAL Oregon, including an application form, is available online at www.realoregon.net. The program costs $5,000 per person, though half of the funding is covered by business sponsors.

SAO PAULO (AP) — A federal judge ordered the arrest of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, giving him until Friday afternoon to turn himself into authorities. Being forced to begin serving a corruption conviction while he appeals it…

LANGLOIS — Jane Kirkpatrick, an award-winning author, will be the guest speaker at an Oregon Author’s Night on Saturday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Old Cheese Factory, 94179 Allen Boice Drive, Langlois.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Officials in an Oregon county who have tried to restrict commercial marijuana production sued the state in federal court, asserting state laws that made pot legal are pre-empted by federal law that criminalize it.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court escalated a long-running battle between the state and the Josephine County Board of Commissioners.

The panel says pot farms are a nuisance. The county is in a prime marijuana-producing region of southern Oregon.

Voters in the state legalized marijuana with a 2014 ballot measure, prompting a “green rush” as pot entrepreneurs set up shop in the fertile, rainy mountainous area.

County Commissioner Dan DeYoung has said rural residents, many of them retirees, are fed up with the proliferating farms in areas zoned as rural residential.

“The good people are leaving and the marijuana people are staying,” DeYoung said, according to the Daily Courier newspaper.

The commission in December tried to ban commercial pot farming on rural residential lots of five acres or less and to drastically reduce the size of some larger grow sites.

But the state Land Use Board of Appeals later put the restrictions on hold, saying the county failed to properly notify land owners.

Pete Gendron, a marijuana grower in the county and president of the Oregon SunGrowers’ Guild advocacy group, said the growers have invested large sums to start operations and were shocked when the county tried to restrict them.

One grower had a letter from the county dating back a year or more stating that cannabis cultivation was farm use and was allowed, Gendron said.

“He invested a half-million dollars in the county,” Gendron said. “He would not have made those investments if not for those assurances.”

The lawsuit by the commission contends the state cannot dictate marijuana regulations over county restrictions because marijuana remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act.

“Any person in any state who possesses, distributes, or manufactures marijuana for medical or recreational purposes, or attempts or conspires to do so, is committing a federal crime,” Wally Hicks, a lawyer for the county, wrote in the lawsuit that names state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum as a defendant, along with the state.

Rosenblum’s spokeswoman Kristina Edmunson said she can’t comment on pending litigation but noted in an email: “We will defend the state laws of Oregon related to marijuana.”

The lawsuit calls on a federal court in Medford to declare that two ballot measures in 1998 and 2014 that legalized medical and recreational marijuana, respectively, are pre-empted by federal law.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who famously declared that “good people don’t smoke marijuana,” recently gave U.S. prosecutors more leeway to pursue federal anti-marijuana laws in states that have legalized pot.

A flock of chickens roams free range outside the faded red barn at Converging Creeks Farm north Colton, Ore., while rows of spicy wasabi arugula mature in one of three nearby greenhouses.

It is a bucolic setting, surrounded by forested hillsides in the lush Willamette Valley, and precisely the vision Nathan McFall had when he decided to embrace subsistence farming coming out of the Peace Corps.

“I really need to be active and outside, having that relationship with the earth,” said McFall, who spent every dime he had to buy the farm in 2008. “This is much more of a lifestyle.”

The idea behind Converging Creeks Farm, however, is bigger than just one person. The roughly six acres of land is also a teaching grounds for the next generation of farmers, where they can learn hands-on how to grow, harvest and process their own food.

McFall and business partner Matt Brown have spun this concept into their own nonprofit organization, called Food|Waves. The goal, McFall said, is to perk interest in local, sustainable farming at a time the average age of American farmers is rising, and fewer people overall are engaged in food production.

According to a 2016 study by Oregon State University and Portland State University, the average age of Oregon farmers is now 60, up from 55 in 2002. At the same time, the American Farm Bureau Federation reports that farm and ranch families now make up just 2 percent of the U.S. population. By comparison, farmers made up 38 percent of the total workforce at the turn of the 20th century.

“That knowledge is being lost,” McFall said. “People need to know how to grow food, and we’re here to help.”

Food|Waves primarily serves communities in Clackamas County, Ore., with the vast majority of food sales coming at the Portland Farmers Market. Converging Creek Farms grows more than 30 types of vegetables, primarily specialty greens that are suited for the farm’s higher elevation and unique microclimate.

The farm also raises chickens for meat and eggs, goats for meat and milk, turkeys and pigs for meat and ducks for eggs.

“Our program is getting better as we find our niche,” McFall said. “In seven years, we’ve come pretty far.”

Growing up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, McFall did not become interested in growing his own food until he went away to college.

It was there, at Texas A&M University, that McFall took up hobby gardening. He then met a Peace Corps recruiter through the Texas Environmental Action Coalition who had previously served in Senegal, Africa. The meeting was a life-defining moment for McFall.

“I just thought, ‘I need to go there,’” he said.

McFall spent two years, from 1998 to 2000, in the small west African nation of Togo, teaching environmental education and organic farming techniques. Overpopulation had taxed much of their soil and natural resources, McFall said.

“It was really in Togo I decided I wanted to be a farmer,” McFall said. “Living for each other, subsistence living, really spoke to me.”

While in Africa, McFall also met Brown, and the two discussed their ambitions of forming a nonprofit. The men went their separate ways, with McFall ultimately managing a farm in northern California and Brown teaching high school science and horticulture near Los Angeles.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2008, with the global financial crisis looming, McFall pulled the trigger on buying Converging Creek Farm. One year later, he started his own construction business to support himself financially.

McFall reached out to Brown, and the two hit on the idea of a teaching farm. By 2010, a decade after they first met abroad, the duo formed Food|Waves, with Brown as executive director and McFall as farm management director.

Brown and his wife moved to Milwaukie, Ore. which now serves as the organization’s headquarters.

“Our mission is to teach people how to grow food,” McFall said. “There needs to be more facilities where young people can learn to farm.”

In seven seasons, more than 20 people have participated in internships through Food|Waves, from ages 15 to 40.

Alexandra Hagiepetros, 28, spent a full season living at the farm in 2017, from May 1 through Nov. 1. As a student, Hagiepetros attended baking and pastry school at the Art Institute of Portland, but had greater ambitions of working in local food systems.

During those six months, Hagiepetros said she learned how to do everything from handling seeds to customer relations. The farm also takes great pains in post-harvest preparation, hand washing each individual vegetable to boost its appearance and presentation.

Hagiepetros is now preparing for an apprenticeship at Carnation Farms in Carnation, Wash. She aims to start her own farm business within the next five years.

“Growing your own food is a very rewarding experience,” Hagiepetros said. “I think everyone should have that.”

That is where the other two programs offered by Food|Waves come in.

Brown, the organization’s executive director, said that when they aren’t busy farming, they do garden education trainings at schools, food pantries and churches around Clackamas County. In 2012, Food|Waves received a grant from the county health department to begin building demonstration gardens at local Head Start sites. Through a combination of grants, fundraising and donations, Brown said they have built more than 10 gardens in Colton, Gladstone, Estacada, Oregon City, Milwaukie and Sandy.

“The idea was to help families that may not be able to afford organic food, to give them these skills,” Brown said. “You don’t need a whole lot of money to grow a whole lot of food.”

For families who express further interest in gardening, Brown said Food|Waves will help them start their own garden at home, building one 6-foot-by-4-foot raised bed. That effort, known as Gift Garden for Healthy Harvest, has resulted in more than 60 new garden beds.

The mission, Brown said, is promoting fresh, nutritious, healthy and sustainable food systems in Oregon.

“We need to get people out there with the knowledge to train others,” Brown said.

Both Brown and McFall agree that Food|Waves is hitting its stride, and they will continue to work toward maintaining the programs they have in place. McFall said he expects 1-2 full-time interns and 3-5 part-timers this year, with farm work beginning in earnest by late May.

“Learning hands-on is the way to do it,” he said.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Some of Oregon’s agricultural producers are waiting to see the effect trade disputes between the United States and China will have on their products.

China announced on Sunday it would put extra tariffs of up to 25 percent on certain U.S. products such as fruits and nuts, including a 15 percent tariff on hazelnuts.

The Register-Guard reports that aside from hazelnuts, that move would also affect pears, berries, apples and wine.

The country already has a 25 percent tariff on hazelnuts.

Oregon hazelnut producers say they are already have a workaround for China tariffs.

State Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor says the effect the tariffs will have on Oregon products will depend on whether Chinese consumers will be willing to buy their produce at a higher price.

Dwellings can be rebuilt on Oregon farmland regardless of when the original structures were destroyed or removed, according to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The ruling overturns an earlier interpretation of state law by Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, which held that dwellings can only be rebuilt if they were subject to property taxes within the past five years.

Landwatch Lane County, a farmland preservation group, argues thats the Oregon Court of Appeals has misconstrued the pertinent land use statute, creating an “end run” around the state planning goal of preserving farmland.

“I would call it devastating for Oregon farmland,” said Lauri Segel-Vaccher, the group’s legal analyst.

Long-lost homes could be rebuilt on farmland regardless of soil quality and with uncertain proof they existed in the first place, she said.

Counties are often “lackadaisical” in protecting farm and forestland, so they may require only scant evidence of a dwelling’s location, Segel-Vaccher said.

“Anybody could come up with a photograph or a diary entry from the 1800s,” she said.

Landwatch Lane County hasn’t yet decided whether to challenge the decision before the Oregon Supreme Court, Segel-Vaccher said.

Oregonians In Action, a property rights group, believes state lawmakers were “fully informed” of the effect their revisions would have on the applicable land use statute in 2013.

“The whole purpose of the bill was to allow property owners to replace dwellings that had been removed, in some cases, decades earlier,” said Dave Hunnicutt, the group’s executive director.

The notion that a significant number of homes will be built as a result is “silly” because landowners must still demonstrate the existence of a dwelling, he said.

“Most rural land is on parcels that have never had farm dwellings,” said Hunnicutt.

The legal dispute over replacement farmland dwellings stems from the case of landowner who sought to rebuild three houses on 100 acres of farmland near Florence, Ore., that were torn down more than two decades ago.

Lane County officials permitted the construction based on a 2013 bill that eased the replacement process for dilapidated or demolished farm dwellings.

However, the county’s decision was reversed last year by the Land Use Board of Appeals, which found the dwelling replacement provision is “somewhat ambiguous” but only applies to a five-year “look back” period during which property taxes were imposed.

The Court of Appeals has disagreed with that understanding, ruling that it’s “logical to conclude that the legislature intended to excuse demolished dwellings from the taxation requirement altogether.”

PORT ORFORD - Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative, Inc. is the recipient of a grant that will cover the costs to explore the feasibility of providing broadband Internet service to the underserved rural areas on the southern Oregon coast. The grant is…

At the intersection of agriculture and technology, Alex Paraskevas sees major potential for the Mid-Willamette Valley.

The greatest advancements may not come from the slickest machines, Paraskevas said, but from data mining solutions to help local growers make the best possible management decisions.

“Margins are slim, time is short and people don’t necessarily want to go out on a limb,” Paraskevas said. “We’re trying to be the glue, holding things together.”

Paraskevas was hired in February by the Strategic Economic Development Corporation, or SEDCOR, as a regional innovation catalyst, focusing particularly on building bridges between the agriculture and technology industries.

Recently, tech giant Intel teamed with Rogue Ales on a project at the brewery’s hops farm in Independence, Ore., tracking environmental conditions aboard trucks as the sensitive crop is hauled north to Portland.

Though Paraskevas cannot talk about specific proposals in the pipeline — they are closely guarded secrets, discussed using code names — he believes the collaboration between Intel and Rogue Ales may be just the beginning. His job, he said, is to continue building that culture and momentum.

“We’re trying to create an environment where two individuals can talk to each other, where they might not talk to each other normally,” Paraskevas said. “We would love for this to become sort of a test bed innovation area.”

SEDCOR, which serves members in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, hired Paraskevas with support from a two-year, $50,000 grant from the Ford Family Foundation. He previously worked 10 years at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., serving as assistant director of alumni communication and then as the associate director of research and prospect management under University Advancement.

In addition to being a regional innovation catalyst, Paraskevas will be responsible for business retention and expansion in Polk County. He is already working closely with Shawn Irvine, economic development director for the city of Independence, on its Smart Rural Community effort, encouraging the growth of agricultural technology businesses.

“Alex brings an inquisitive mind and go-getter attitude,” Irvine said in a statement shortly after Paraskevas was hired. “He is quick to see connections and understand what people need. I’m excited to get started and see where we can go together.”

Paraskevas, 33, is a native of the area, graduating from South Salem High School in 2002 and from the University of Oregon in 2006. Both of his parents are professors at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore.

Paraskevas readily admits he has little to no background in agriculture. He describes himself as the “typical Salemite,” not fully aware of where his food comes from. But he said he is learning fast as he goes.

“It’s fun to be learning the nuts and bolts of all the different commodities in this area,” Paraskevas said.

SEDCOR President Chad Freeman said they are excited to have Paraskevas aboard.

“We are excited to see where his energy, enthusiasm and knowledge takes us as we work directly with business to grow jobs for Polk County and the region,” Freeman said.

Moving forward, Paraskevas said there is no real agenda for his position, other than to foster participation and cooperation that could lead to big developments down the road.

“It’s just building more of a formal pipeline for this kind of stuff to come out,” he said. “Necessity is truly the mother of all invention for (farmers). They don’t care what necessarily it looks like. They just need to get the job done.”

BEND, Ore. (AP) — Residents in an Oregon county could soon see changes to the county’s approach toward its existing policy on marijuana.

The Bend Bulletin reports Deschutes County’s community development department presented its assessment of county marijuana rules to the Deschutes County Commission Monday during a work session.

The presentation was intended to spearhead discussion on potential changes to county rules.

Commissioner Tammy Baney says the goal is to cut down on the illegal activity she and many rural residents believe is occurring outside of the legal, permitted grows.

Deschutes County implemented its rules for marijuana production, processing, retail and wholesale operations outside urban growth boundaries in 2016. Deschutes County Senior Planner Matt Martin says the rules were always meant to be revisited once the community development department has more information about the newly legal industry.

NEW YORK (AP) — Seventeen states, the District of Columbia and six cities sued the U.S. government Tuesday, saying the addition of a citizenship question to the census form is unconstitutional.

The Trump administration’s decision to ask people about their citizenship has set off worries among Democrats that immigrants will dodge the survey altogether, diluting political representation for states that tend to vote Democratic and robbing many communities of federal dollars.

Supporters of the plan for the 2020 census argue that enforcing voting rights requires more data on the voting-age population of citizens than current surveys are providing. It would be the first time in 70 years that the government uses the census form sent to every household to ask people to specify whether they are U.S. citizens.

New York Attorney General Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat who announced the new lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, said the plans would have a “devastating effect on New York, where we have millions of immigrants.”

“It’s unlawful. It’s unfair,” Schneiderman said at a news conference. He added that it would end a longstanding bipartisan effort to have the Bureau of the Census conduct a full and fair count of the population, including citizens and non-citizens.

The Census Bureau hasn’t included a citizenship question in its survey of all U.S. households since 1950, well before passage of a 1965 law meant to ensure minority groups are fully represented in the once-a-decade count.

The lawsuit, which also included the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors as a plaintiff, said adding the citizenship question was arbitrary and will “fatally undermine the accuracy of the population count.” It asked for a ruling that the citizenship demand is unauthorized and unconstitutional.

According to the lawsuit, nearly a quarter of households in New York state did not return their 2010 census questionnaire, requiring an in-person follow-up. It noted that one-in-five New York residents were born in another country. The NAACP has also said the new plan will also lead to a massive undercounting of blacks.

A government spokesman did not immediately comment. The Justice Department has said it “looks forward to defending the reinstatement of the citizenship question.” The Commerce Department has said the benefits of obtaining citizenship information “outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts.”

The decennial census is required by the Constitution and used to determine the number of seats each state has in the House, as well as how federal money is distributed to local communities. Communities and businesses depend on it in deciding where to build schools, hospitals, grocery stores and more.

Several states that have slowing population growth or high numbers of immigrants such as California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts and Ohio are typically at risk of losing U.S. House seats when their congressional districts are redrawn every 10 years — depending on how fully their residents are counted.

The defendants in the lawsuit are the U.S. Department of Commerce, responsible for the census, and the Bureau of the Census. Plaintiffs include New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, San Francisco, Seattle and Providence, Rhode Island.

California’s attorney general filed a separate lawsuit last week that seeks to block the citizenship question from being added to the census questionnaire.

Wednesdays

The aroma and taste of smoke can make it into nearby grapes and linger in the wine, even after it’s been fermented and distilled. That’s worrying growers and winemakers here in Oregon.

Elizabeth Tomasino is an assistant professor of food science and technology at Oregon State University. She told OPB “Weekend Edition” host John Notarianni that smoke is essentially an aerosol, with both solid particles and water droplets.

“What will happen is the smoke in the air will settle on the leaves and grapes, and they’re actually transported through the cells into the grape,” Tomasino said.

She said the results aren’t likely to produce a finished wine with much mass appeal: “People like to talk about it tasting ashy or like licking an ashtray — not very appetizing at all.”

Unfortunately, Tomasino said, there’s not a lot farmers can do to prevent the taint. But scientists like Tomasino are experimenting with new processes to treat the grapes once they’ve been picked.

“Adding a little bit of activated carbon can strip some of the compounds out,” she said. “You want to think about things that will bind up phenolic compounds, which are the main compounds in smoke taint.”

In the meantime, winemakers might have to get creative.

“I tease people that it would make a lovely barbecue wine,” Tomasino said.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday affirmed an order to spill more water over Columbia and Snake river dams to help protect salmon and steelhead and aid their migration to the sea.

The decision came after U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon of Oregon ruled last spring that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must spill more water through spillways rather than turbines that pose a danger to the fish.

He sided with conservationists who say allowing extra water to flow between April and mid-June will help young salmon.

The Army Corps, National Marine Fisheries Service and another federal agency appealed Simon’s ruling.

A three-judge panel of the appeals court said Monday that Simon rightly concluded that the salmon and steelhead are imperiled and will remain so without further conservation efforts.

The judges also pointed to decades of studies that show higher spill volumes lead to increased survival rates.

“At best, federal defendants establish uncertainty about the benefits of increased spill, but the existence of scientific uncertainty does not render the district court’s findings clearly erroneous,” Chief Judge Sidney Thomas wrote in the opinion.

The new spill operations are set to begin Tuesday at some dams on the Snake River and next week on some dams in the Columbia, one of the largest rivers in North America. The Snake is its largest tributary.

Conservation groups said it’s the fourth time since 2005 that increased spill has been mandated by the district court.

“It’s tragic that the federal agencies are still ignoring their own science in fighting spill at every step of the way,” said Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.

The Corps did not have an immediate statement on the ruling. Agency spokesman Tom Conning said it may respond later in the day.

Tuesdays

Rebounding wheat prices aren’t likely to go much higher despite USDA reports of smaller stocks, a small grains economist says.

Nationally, wheat stored in all positions dropped 10 percent, from 1.66 billion bushels to 1.49 billion bushels. The amount of wheat stored in all positions in Idaho dropped from 55.4 million bushels a year ago to 39 million bushels, a nearly 30 percent decline. Oregon wheat stored in all positions dropped from 27.7 million bushels in 2017 to 22.6 million bushels, a 18 percent decline. Washington wheat stored in all positions dropped 20 percent from 104 million bushels to 82.9 million bushels.

It’s not surprising that stocks are down, given that overall supplies are also down relative to a year ago, said Randy Fortenbery, small grains economist at Washington State University.

Reduced stocks puts less downward pressure on prices, Fortenbery said.

Wheat prices have increased by about 5 to 6 cents per bushel, he said, but soybeans and corn have had bigger rallies, which is hard to explain given the stocks report.

“It’s really hard to take the information we got and translate that into the price rallies we saw,” Fortenbery said.

Soft white wheat is roughly $5.40 to $5.66 per bushel on the Portland market.

Crop prices are still in roughly the same range they’ve been for the last month or two, and are still well below prices from three to four years ago, Fortenbery said.

Exports for all three crops are behind where they need to be for the time of year to hit USDA’s forecast for the marketing year, which ends May 31, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of export competition internationally, so everyone has a lot of wheat to export,” he said.

The value of the American dollar is also a factor. Recently, the dollar has been down compared to major foreign currencies.

Concerns about the Trump administration’s trade policies could also play a part, Fortenbery said,

If exports continue to lag, Fortenbery said, “it’s going to be hard to argue that prices should be much higher than they are now.”

USDA also called for slightly more wheat acres nationally and in the Northwest in its prospective plantings report.

Idaho is expected to plant a total of 1.24 million acres of wheat, up 6 percent from 1.17 million acres in 2017. Oregon is expected to plant 790,000 acres, up 2 percent from 775,000 acres. Washington is expected to plant 2.23 million acres, up 1.6 percent from 2.2 million acres in 2017.

Nationally, wheat acres are expected to increase nearly 2.9 percent, from 46 million to 47.3 million acres.

Spring wheat and corn planting conditions will be important in the coming weeks, Fortenbery said. Wheat prices are affected by corn prices.

“If we end up having any disruptions, not able to plant the number of acres that they’re now projecting we will plant, that could be a little bit positive for the market,” Fortenbery said. “But if we have great planting conditions, that means we will lose a weather scare. It will be hard for the market to rally much.”

The beginning of spring ushers a flurry of activity on the vast, rolling wheat fields of Umatilla and Morrow counties in northeast Oregon.

Farmers drive large sprayer rigs over still-green plants to control weeds and pests, while crossing their fingers for make-or-break rainstorms that can turn otherwise average yields into a bumper crop.

This year, however, a new layer of uncertainty has emerged for the Northwest wheat industry. Since the U.S. pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, growers are worried about maintaining strong relationships with longtime foreign customers in countries such as Japan, which signed on to a revised version of the trade deal March 8 in Santiago, Chile, along with 10 other nations.

The vast majority of Oregon wheat — between 85 and 90 percent — is exported, with 21 percent of export sales to Japan. That amounts to $60 million, at current prices from Portland grain terminals.

While the price of soft white wheat has rebounded modestly from its sub-$5 per bushel low last year, Japanese flour mills estimate higher tariffs on American wheat could negatively impact market share by more than half, from 3 million metric tons to less than 1.4 million metric tons. And once that market share is gone, it can be difficult to recapture.

Matt Wood, who farms several thousand acres of dryland wheat and cattle pasture near the small town of Helix, Ore., said farmers are wary of the unpredictability. But the economic consequences extend even further.

“The community you draw business support is ever shrinking,” Wood said. “That’s a real concern.”

Ripple effect

What has happened in Helix — population 181 — is what continues to happen all over rural America, Wood said.

Wood took over the lease on his family’s farm in 1993. Since then, he said the town has lost its grocery store, hardware store and the post office was forced to cut back hours. The Helix Market & Pub nearly suffered the same fate until Wood and four other guys bought the place in 2006 just to keep it open — it was cheaper than paying their tabs, he quipped.

The Watering Hole Consortium, as they called themselves, has since passed the pub along to Anna Doherty, who has kept it running.

“The concern we all had was if that place closes, it ain’t opening again,” Wood said.

Helix has historically depended on agriculture, yet Wood estimates that half his neighbors are no longer farming. The return on investment is no better than 2 percent, he figures. So, instead of having 10 guys farming 2,000 acres, he said two guys are now farming 10,000 acres.

That observation is backed up by data from the USDA. A recent report from the agency’s Economic Research Service shows that farm production has been trending toward consolidation over the last three decades. By 2012, 36 percent of all cropland was on farms with at least 2,000 acres, up from 15 percent in 1987.

Consolidation means fewer people to invest in the community, Wood said.

“It’s just been a shift in the economy,” he said.

Eric Orem, a wheat farmer north of Lexington, Ore., has seen something similar. Orem serves on the board of directors for Morrow County Grain Growers, the local farmers’ cooperative. Between drought-stunted yields and increasing trade uncertainty, he said the co-op is experiencing some lean years in product and equipment sales.

In turn, the co-op — while still profitable — has less money to support community-based organizations like FFA or Little League Baseball.

“It’s a ripple effect, for sure,” Orem said. “It’s definitely a reflection of what’s happening on the farms.”

Exports crucial

Exports remain crucial to wheat growers to turn a profit. Umatilla and Morrow counties rank first and second, respectively, in statewide production as of the most recent 2012 Census of Agriculture. Combined, they total roughly 395,000 wheat acres.

With the U.S. out of the latest TPP agreement, state and national wheat industry groups sent a letter to Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, urging President Donald Trump to reconsider.

“The President has promised to negotiate great new deals,” the letter reads. “American agriculture now counts on that promise and American wheat farmers — facing a calamity they would be hard-pressed to overcome — now depend on it.”

Wood said the last thing the wheat industry needs is to jeopardize any kind of international trade. Orem said that, while he does not believe U.S. wheat will ever truly lose the Japanese market, the latest developments are “troubling,” and “disheartening.”

Blake Rowe, CEO of the Oregon Wheat Growers League and Oregon Wheat Commission, echoed the farmers’ sentiments. In addition to TPP, Rowe said the organization is keeping a close eye on NAFTA negotiations, and possible retaliation against U.S. agriculture based on new steel and aluminum import tariffs.

“It’s not a good time,” Rowe said. “I think folks are being cautious, not knowing where this is going to end up.”

Dryland wheat is the still the major agricultural crop for many communities in the dry, arid climate of Eastern Oregon. Without access to irrigation water, there are not many viable alternatives.

“I’m not really sure how communities will absorb those hits,” Rowe said.

Bruce Sorte, community economist for Oregon State University Extension in Eastern Oregon, said wheat isn’t the only commodity that may be affected. Fruit also depends on exports, along with processed potatoes and onions.

“Those exports are just critical to the folks out there,” Sorte said. “How these things play out, you never can tell.”

Job diversification

Steve Chrisman, economic development and airport manager for the city of Pendleton, Ore., said the local job base has grown more diverse over the last couple of decades, which has helped insulate the community against impacts to a single business — namely agriculture.

“If wheat’s not going to do well, it’s not good for the city, but it doesn’t cripple it, either,” Chrisman said.

Chrisman pointed to Wildhorse Resort & Casino, Keystone RV and Interpath Laboratory as examples of large employers outside the farm sector. Another recent development that has him excited is the development of the Pendleton Unmanned Aerial Systems Range, which he said is beginning to add full-time permanent jobs.

Companies such as Yamaha, A^3 and defense contractors have flocked to the range, which has been the site of several high-profile drone launches including the Project Vahana air taxi and ArcticShark, which will be used to gather sophisticated climate data in the Arctic atmosphere over Alaska.

The range has brought anywhere from 20 to 50 people into Pendleton at all times during the last six months, Chrisman said, eating out in local restaurants and staying in local hotels. And Chrisman believes this is only the tip of the iceberg.

“The potential for growth here is pretty exciting,” he said. “I think we’ve made huge strides in the last two years.”

Pat Beard, who manages the Pendleton Convention Center, added summer tourism as another economic driver for the city, with Pendleton Bike Week, Pendleton Whisky Music Fest and, of course, the world-famous Pendleton Round-Up.

Beard said he knows, living in a very agriculture-oriented area, the price of commodities will always affect the community. But as the economy diversifies, it is not as devastating a blow as it would have been 50 years ago.

“While it’s challenging times, it’s part of the lifestyle,” Beard said.

That lifestyle is what keeps farmers like Wood and Orem working through the tough times.

“It’s what we do. It’s what we know,” Wood said.

Orem said he is still optimistic for the future, and believes the battle-tested wheat economy will ultimately prevail.

“We’ve been through tough times before,” Orem said. “We’ll figure these trade deals out. It’s a bump in the road right now.”

COOS BAY -- A group of 50 or more people gathered in front of Fred Meyer in Coos Bay on Friday evening for a Second Amendment rally.

SATURDAY, MARCH 31