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Capital Press
The West’s
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2015
VOLUME 88, NUMBER 40
A g
Weekly
WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM
$2.00
In West, women
farmers carry
economic clout
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
GETTING BY
84
Ore.
30
BAKER
95
Weiser
26
MALHEUR
Ontario
eek Vale
ly Cr
R.
B ul
eur
Payette
52
201
20
Nyssa
84
Ma
30
Owyhee
Reservoir
Homedale S na
Marsing
ee
R.
Idaho
Ore.
NTARIO, Ore. — Growers along the Oregon-Idaho border who
depend on water from the Owyhee Reservoir to irrigate their
crops have had to change the way they farm.
They have no choice. The annual water allotment for the 1,800
farms that depend on the reservoir has been slashed by about two-
thirds during the past three years as a drought grips the region.
The reservoir provides water for 118,000 irrigated acres in
Malheur County in southeastern Oregon and around Homedale and
Marsing in southwestern Idaho.
This was the fourth straight year of reduced snowpack runoff in the
Owyhee Basin, which feeds the Owyhee River and the reservoir. The
Owyhee Irrigation District receives water from the reservoir and de-
livers it to irrigators through 400 miles of canals, laterals and ditches.
“I know growers who are growing onions on 1.7 to 1.8 acre-feet of
water. Ten years ago that never happened; we used almost twice that
number to grow an onion,” Ontario, Ore., farmer Bill Johnson said.
Turn to DROUGHT, Page 12
lh
Capital Press
Riv e
ke
o
By SEAN ELLIS
Area in
detail
Ore.
Idaho
Eastern Oregon farmers adapt
to deal with years of drought
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
y
Ow
95
r
78
N
h
10 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Sean Ellis/Capital Press File
Stuart Reitz, an Oregon State University cropping systems extension agent in Malheur County, discusses his research with farmers during a
fi eld day. “Growers are doing what they have to do to make a crop,” he said of the drought conditions that have prevailed in Eastern Oregon.
SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
OCTOBER 2, 2015
WINTER
SERVICES
& SUPPLIES
• Winter requires preparations
on the dairy farm
• Timing is important when
purchasing equipment
PAGE 2
PAGE 4
Capital Press
The West’s
A g Weekly
• Vineyards need to be
‘tucked in’ for winter
PAGE 7
The percentage of Pacif-
ic Northwest and California
farmers who are women eas-
ily tops the national average,
according to statistics re-
leased by the USDA.
Nationally, 31 percent of
farmers are women, and they
farm more than 301 million
acres and have a $12.9 bil-
lion annual economic im-
pact, according to USDA.
In Oregon, 39 percent of
farmers are women; 37 per-
cent in Washington and 33
percent in Idaho and Cali-
fornia.
The West in general has a
higher percentage of women
farmers than the rest of the
country. Arizona tops the list
with 45 percent women; Ne-
vada counts 39 percent, Col-
orado 37 percent, Wyoming
35 percent and New Mexico
and Montana have 34 per-
cent.
Katy Coba, director of
the Oregon Department of
Agriculture, said the culture
of the West is more receptive
than other regions to women
being involved in agricul-
ture.
That can’t help but in-
fluence or change agricul-
ture, although the women
themselves may not think
there’s anything special
about their presence, Coba
said.
“When there’s a diversity
of perspectives, that’s a good
thing,” she said. “Women
are one element of that di-
versity.”
Young farmers and peo-
ple who grew up in urban
areas and are turning to ag-
riculture also bring diverse
viewpoints and experience
to farming, she said.
“The more we can bring
those people together and
help shape ag policy, I think
you just get better policy,”
she said.
In the Midwest, women
make up 23 percent of the
farmers in Illinois, 25 per-
cent in Iowa and 28 percent
in Ohio.
The numbers are drawn
from the 2012 Census of
Women farmers
in the U.S., 2012
Of the nearly 1 million women
farmers nationwide, more than
10 percent come from the
Northwest and California.
Northwest and
California:
98,263 or
10.1%
Source: U.S.
Census of
Agriculture
40,072
Rest of U.S.:
871,409 or
89.9%
Breakdown
by state
22,772 22,376
13,043
Calif.
Ore. Wash. Idaho
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
Online
• USDA’s state-by-state
analysis of women farmers.
http: //www.usda.gov/wps/
portal/usda/usdahome?
contentid=women-in-ag.html
• 2013 Capital Press article
on daughters taking over
the family farm.
http: //www.capitalpress.com/
article/20131024/
ARTICLE/131029935
Agriculture, which actually
showed a 2 percent decline
nationally in women farm-
ers compared to the 2007
ag census. The 2012 census
also showed the number of
women who are principal
operators declined by 6 per-
cent.
Nonetheless,
women’s
impact in ag is evident. In
Oregon, for example, they
farm 7.3 million acres and
have a $263 million eco-
nomic impact.
The USDA also an-
nounced it has established a
mentoring network for wom-
en in agriculture. The agency
invited people to take part by
emailing AgWomenLead@
usda.gov or follow #wome-
ninag on Twitter.
ODFW won’t authorize killing
wolves despite multiple attacks
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Oregon wildlife offi cials won’t authorize
killing members of the Mount Emily wolf pack
despite fi ve confi rmed attacks on a sheep herd
since June.
Under the state’s wolf recovery plan, which
moved into Phase 2 this year, Oregon Depart-
ment of Fish & Wildlife can authorize lethal
control of wolves after two confi rmed “dep-
redations,” or one confi rmed attack and three
attempts.
But ODFW chose not to in this case, despite
four documented attacks by the Mount Emily
pack in August and a fi fth in June.
At least seven sheep and a guard dog were
killed in pack attacks investigated June 22,
Aug. 4, Aug. 15, Aug. 24 and Aug. 27. The
attacks would have qualifi ed for lethal control
Courtesy of Jeremy Bingham
A sheep killed by wolves this summer in North-
east Oregon. State wildlife offi cials refuse to
take lethal action against the Mount Emily pack
despite fi ve confi rmed depredations.
even under Phase 1 of the recovery plan, which
required four confi rmed depredations over a
six-month period.
Turn to WOLVES, Page 12