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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

COOS BAY – Southwestern Oregon Community College announces the names of students who excelled fall term 2017-2018. These students are being recognized with placement on the college’s Dean’s List (3.0-3.49 GPA in at least 12 credits), Honor Roll (3.5-3.99 GPA…

Tuesdays

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesdays

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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