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anuary 20 6 apital ress.com 3 Farmers optimistic about snowpack levels in Owyhee Basin :DWHUKDVVWRSSHGÀRZLQJ through the Owyhee Irrigation District’s 400 miles of canals, ONTARIO, Ore. — A se- laterals and ditches in August ries of snowstorms over the the past two years, two months Owyhee Basin has resulted earlier than normal. in snowpack levels more than But as of Dec. 24, snow- twice their normal amount for pack in the basin was at 233 this time of year. percent of normal for that That has given farmers date. in Eastern Oregon who get “I’m really pleased with their irrigation water from the what I’m seeing so far,” said Owyhee Reservoir a reason to dairyman and farmer Frank EHRSWLPLVWLFIRUWKH¿UVWWLPH Ausman, a member of the in several years. Owyhee Irrigation District’s The basin has experienced board of directors. “We’re four straight years of reduced sitting quite a bit better at this snowpack levels and the 1,800 time than we were the last farms that depend on the res- couple of years.” ervoir have had their annual But Ausman and other water allotment slashed by farmers said the snow needs two-thirds the past two years. to keep falling in order for By SEAN ELLIS apital ress growers to have an adequate water supply next season. ³,W¶V GH¿QLWHO\ D JRRG start but it’s a little early to start counting our chickens,” Ausman said. OID Manager Jay Cham- berlin said the storms have laid down a lot of snow pro- portionally over the whole watershed, unlike last year when the sparse snow the ba- sin received was spotty. “Keep it coming. This feels good,” he said. The reservoir provides wa- ter for 118,000 irrigated acres in Malheur County in south- eastern Oregon and around Homedale and Marsing in southwestern Idaho. Farmers in this area have had to alter their rotations and farming practices as a result of drastically reduced water sup- plies the last three years. A lot of farm ground has been left idle and growers have planted a lot more crops that require less wa- ter but also bring less income. While farmers and water supply managers expressed optimism at the current snow- pack situation in the basin, they also cautioned that it’s still early in the snow season and the reservoir needs a lot more water. To guarantee a good wa- ter supply year, the reservoir needs about 450,000 acre-feet of storage water, Chamberlin said. It’s holding about 50,000 acre-feet right now. “We’re going into 2016 in a lot better shape than we did the last three years,” Cham- berlin said. “But we have a whole lot of room in an empty bucket. We can take whatever (is sent) us.” Farmer Paul Skeen likened the current water situation to being early in a football game. While farmers are leading, there’s a lot of ballgame left, he said. “Yes, things don’t look nearly as bleak as they did last year,” said Skeen, presi- dent of the Malheur County Onion Growers Association. “But we’re a long ways from the fourth quarter. We’re just ¿QLVKLQJ WKH ¿UVW TXDUWHU RI the game.” 5HSRUWRI0H[LFDQ&KULVWPDVWUHHUHMHFWLRQVEDIÀHVIDUPHUV Currency, price fluctuations blamed for export decline By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI apital ress India restricts foreign apples at some of its ports Mateus er ows i apital ress or ers bale hristmas trees prior to shipment in this apital 3UHVV¿OHSKRWR([SRUWVWR0H[LFRKDYHGURSSHGEXWWKHGRPHVWLF mar et for trees is healthy e perts say. rejections from Mexico, said Greg Rondeau, its sales man- ager. If there was a sharp spike in overall rejections, it was prob- ably linked to the higher cost of trees for Mexican importers, Rondeau said. “They may have been in- clined to buy lesser quality trees to save money,” he said. While the reasons for the increased pest incidents are un- clear, experts say the USDA is correct in reporting that exports are down. Tree supplies are tightening, causing domestic prices to rise, said Bryan Ostlund, executive GLUHFWRURIWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW Christmas Tree Association. With a healthy domestic market, farmers are less inclined to export trees and face potential problems at the border, Ostlund said. “Any export comes with a level of risk.” Exact prices vary depend- ing on the contract between the farmer and buyer, but this year’s Land Management Problems? Offered Quarterly begnning: A A Small Grant Team Contact: Marc Bell marc.bell@polkswcd.com #,3> Do you own or manage a small farm, woodland, or wildlife acreage in Benton, Polk, or Yamhill county that needs improved land management practices? An OWEB Small Grant might just be what you’re looking for. OWEB small grants award up to $10,000 for on-the-ground projects that work to improve the productivity and efficiency of grazing systems, animal waste management, erosion control, forest management practices, irrigation, streamside vegetation, rainwater collection, instream fish & wildlife habitat, culvert replacement, plant or animal pest management, noxious weed control and more. Urban living solutions also available: Storm water runoff collection systems, Flood storage, Improved surface drainage & Pest management. On the web at www.oregon.gov/oweb/grants/ pages/smgrant_main.aspx Sponsored by: The Polk Soil & Water Conservation District, Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, Benton SWCD, Yamhill SWCD, Luckiamute Watershed Council, Greater Yamhill WC, and the Glen-Gibson and Rickreall WC’s. 1-2/#T4D 1-2/#4x Mexican authorities have reportedly doubled their re- jections of U.S. Christmas Dan heat apital ress trees due to pests this year, aron arlson places a tray of ed Delicious apples into ZKLFKLVEDIÀLQJWRVRPHGR- a 40-pound bo at McDougall Sons pac ing plant East mestic farmers and regulators. enatchee ash. last April. ed Delicious are a prime e port Overall Mexican demand ariety to ndia hina Me ico and other countries. for U.S. Christmas trees has also fallen due to rising prices DQG FXUUHQF\ ÀXFWXDWLRQV EXW the problem isn’t a top concern for growers as the domestic market was strong, experts say. “It is an improvement over previous years,” said Rick By DAN WHEAT 5.6 million boxes of Washing- Schaefer, whose family owns apital ress ton apples, mainly Red De- Holiday Specialtrees of Wood- licious, valued at more than burn, Ore. YAKIMA, Wash. — India $100 million, Powers said. Lo- Importers in Mexico have has closed all but one of its gistically and given the infra- said “bah humbug” to this seaports to imported apples, structure of the country, there’s year’s Christmas tree crop, which may result in a 50 per- no way to get all of the volume primarily because the peso has cent reduction in Washington through Nhava Sheva, he said. fallen in value against the dol- apples going there in the 2015- Apples are trucked from lar by about 18 percent since 2016 sales season. Yakima and Wenatchee to late 2014, making U.S. prod- ³,W¶VYHU\GLI¿FXOWWRVD\´LI Washington and Oregon sea- ucts more expensive in that the situation will be resolved ports and shipped across the country, according to a recent any time soon, said Mark Pow- 3DFL¿F WR 6LQJDSRUH RU RWKHU USDA report. ers, executive vice president of southeast Asian ports for re- Mexico’s Federal Attorney the Northwest Horticultural loading on ships bound for In- for Environmental Protection Association in Yakima. He dia, he said. also rejected more than 18,000 arrived home Dec. 18 after a Shipments so far have been U.S. trees due to problems week of meetings with govern- down 70 percent since Sep- with pests, mostly weevils, PHQWRI¿FLDOVDQGLPSRUWHUVLQ tember but that’s been because which is twice as many as in India trying to get restrictions of a large India apple crop, a 2014, the report said. lifted. smaller Washington crop and 7KRVH ¿JXUHV GRQ¶W VTXDUH “Domestic politics” caused a strong U.S. dollar reducing with reports received by farm the closure in September but India’s buying power, Powers regulators in Oregon, which apples are still allowed into said. is the predominant exporter of Nhava Sheva, a main port on “Shipments have been slow Christmas trees to Mexico. the western side of the country because of those reasons but Information received by the near Mumbai, formerly known the port closures will be a sig- Oregon Department of Agricul- as Bombay, Powers said. QL¿FDQWEDUULHULIZHFDQ¶WJHW ture indicates that rejections had Chennai is the leading port in them resolved in the near fu- fallen since last year, said Gary the southeast that is closed, he ture,” he said. McAninch, manager of the said. Normally, half of the Wash- agency’s nursery and Christmas Powers would not elabo- ington apples are imported tree program. rate on the “domestic politics.” through Nhava Sheva and half “We thought the pest pres- It appears to be protectionism through ports in the southeast, sure was less than in years past,” of India’s apple industry, ac- he said. he said. cording to reports in fruit trade About 150,000, 40-pound However, it is possible ODA publications, Asiafruit and boxes of Washington apples KDVQ¶W\HWEHHQQRWL¿HGRIDOOWKH Fresh Plaza. have been shipped to India rejections, McAninch said. The U.S., Chile, New Zea- from Sept. 1 through Dec. 15 The data contained in US- land and the European Union compared with 532,000 for DA’s report also surprised Chal complained to the World Trade the same period a year ago, he Landgren, Oregon State Univer- Organization and were told to said. sity’s Christmas tree specialist. sort out the issue with India, Europe has increased A potential explanation is The Hindu BusinessLine re- shipments of apples to India that the drought weakened some ported. because of Russia’s embargo trees this year, which may have India has had a 50-percent against Western fruit and pro- attracted more twig weevils, he tariff on foreign apples for duce. That increases competi- said. “They’re sort of a stress years. India producers want tion in the region but Europe indicator.” that increased but the govern- is also barred from delivering Holiday Tree Farms of Cor- ment can’t under WTO rules. apples to the same ports, he vallis, Ore., a major producer, ,QGLDLVWKHZRUOG¶V¿IWKODUJ- said. hasn’t noticed an increase in est apple producer but also imports apples with about half coming from China. H-B SYSTEM 2000 HORIZONTAL India has been in the top BALE CUTTING SAW ¿YH RI :DVKLQJWRQ DSSOH H[- The heavy duty, hydraulically powered horizontal port markets for several years. Bale Reclaim system, with “Vertical cut positioning” Last season, India imported wholesale prices are in the range RISHU1REOH¿UDQGSHU 'RXJODV¿UKHVDLG That’s a major improvement from recent years, when prices fell as low as $6 per Douglas ¿UDQGSHU1REOH¿UGXHWR a major glut of trees, according to previous reports in Capital Press. That oversupply prompted growers to reduce plantings, said Tyler Stone, whose family owns the BTN of Oregon farm near Salem. “We’re probably going to be short for the next couple of years,” he said. “There’s not as many Christmas trees as there used to be.” Buyers who had grown ac- customed to the abundance of trees will now have to change their habits, said Schaefer of Holiday Specialtrees. SALVAGE ED BALES CONTAMINAT COST- QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY January 9 th , 2016 South Puget Sound Community College OLYMPIA, WA 1-2/#24 • Automatic bar oiler system is a standard feature on this unit. • This saw splits bales using an L-M DE-68 inch saw bar running .404 pitch chain designed for parallel cutting through any type of hay or straw. 1-2/#7 Presented by Washington State University in partnership with Oregon State University • The HB System 2000 comes complete with hydraulic cylinder and controls for powered cut depth adjustment through the cut. Register Today! www. CascadiaGrains .com