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NORTHWEST AGRICULTURAL SHOW SPECIAL SECTION Inside Jan . 2 7-2 9 The Por tlan d E xpo Ce nte r • Th for ere’s s ran every ometh sho cher a farme ing w > t th r an > P is ye d age a • H 3 r’s che ow to top rry tre train y ic sem s of e amo our ina hort ng rs > icu > P ltur • D age e 11 m rones h Capital Press The West s Weekly VOLUME 88, NUMBER 2 FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 2015 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM $2.00 RURAL OREGON JUNIPER MILL OPERATES ON Co C a urtesy of pit al P r e s Th e W est’s W ee kl y s HOPES AND DREAMS Governor to propose Oregon GMO bill Questions loom over coexistence measures By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Photos by Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Kendall Derby says the demand for juniper products is strong, but the market lacks infrastructure and business is tentative. “I come close to the edge pretty regularly.” ‘I don’t expect it to be easy, but I expect it to be possible’ By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Area in detail ORE. Approximate site of In the Sticks sawmill JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS NAT’L. MON. WASCO (CLAMO UNIT) 218 Jo h ay n D JEFFERSON Condon GILLIAM 19 Fossil WHEELER 19 River JOHN DAY FOSSIL BEDS NAT’L. MON. (PAINTED HILLS UNIT) 207 N Mitchell 26 10 miles 26 OCHOCO NAT’L. FOR. Alan Kenaga/Capital Press K endall Derby rolls into Portland in a tan GM Sierra pickup truck, pulling a fl atbed trailer full of hope and bother. It’s a load of landscape timbers Derby cut from gnarly western juniper trees, and he drove 170 miles from Fossil, the emptiest spot in rural Oregon’s bare economy, to sell them in the city of hipsters. Derby, 53, is burly, bearded, holds a rangeland ecology degree from Or- egon State University and runs a two- man sawmill called In the Sticks. He said a guy should be able to make a living milling the juniper that cattle ranchers and government agencies want removed from the landscape. He wants to believe that. But the saw should be whining, the kiln should be humming and the phone should be ringing with orders and offers. Instead, the only sound is the Kendall Derby sizes up a juniper log for cutting at his In the Sticks sawmill in Fossil, Ore. Most of the lumber he produces is sold in the Portland area as landscape timbers and vineyard posts. wind gently fl apping the plastic cov- ering stacks of timbers. Winter’s arrived and he doesn’t have a juniper log deck to cut. “One of the things that haunts me is, everybody that has tried juniper has gone under,” Derby said. “Part of it is just hanging in there.” he said. “I come close to the edge pretty regularly.” Turn to MILL, Page 12 SALEM — Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber will propose a legislative fi x in mid-Janu- ary aimed at fostering coexis- tence among biotech, conven- tional and organic crops. Details of the proposal ha- ven’t yet been disclosed and the legislative language will likely be amended before an actual bill is in- troduced, said Richard Whit- man, the gov- ernor’s natural resources poli- cy director. “The antic- Kitzhaber ipation is there will be more conversation among stakeholders before we fi nalize the bill,” Whitman said. A task force on genetically modifi ed organisms appears to have helped Kitzhaber de- cide on a course of action. In 2013, the Oregon legis- lature pre-empted most local governments from restricting genetically modifi ed crops at Kitzhaber’s urging. The governor then ap- pointed a task force to frame the controversy over geneti- cally modifi ed organisms and inform lawmakers’ decisions on possible statewide legis- lation. The task force’s recently completed report does not make any policy recommen- dations but lays out the points of contention between critics and proponents of genetically engineered crops. However, its members did agree that more clarity is needed about the state’s role in regulating GMOs and how it diverges from federal au- thority. The main question now is what measures Kitzhaber or state lawmakers will put forward to prevent unwant- ed cross-pollination among these crops or if farmers can agree on a voluntary system to avoid such gene flow. Turn to BILL, Page 12 Prospects for immigration reform uncertain By DAN WHEAT Capital Press Farm labor leaders have mixed opinions on the pros- pects Congress and the pres- ident will reach a deal on immigration reform, and whether illegal immigrants will sign up in large numbers for temporary legal status un- der President Obama’s execu- tive action. They foresee agricultural labor shortages getting worse as fewer people want physical work. Manuel Cunha, president of the Nisei Farmers League in Fresno, Calif., said major- Manuel Cunha, president of the Nisei Farmers League, poses Dec. 22 in front of a vineyard in Fresno, Calif. ity Republicans in Congress will do something on immi- gration to diffuse it as an issue for 2016 elections. They likely will adopt a new agricultural guest worker program, like the one in the Senate bill last session, and Scott Smith Associated Press Turn to REFORM, Page 12 THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS 2-5/#5 OREGON IDAHO Hemp fans claim rules need update Farmer soars as TV’s spud pilot Farm regulators in Oregon are on the verge of enacting regulations for growing hemp. Page 3 James Hoff is a fourth-generation farmer, a third-generation pilot and a fi rst-generation TV star. Page 5