September 2, 2016
CapitalPress.com
3
Friends of Family Farmers
wants ‘shift’ in ODA direction
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Capital Press File
Workers bale Christmas trees during a recent harvest. The number of growers has shrunk during the past
decade as supply and demand have equalized, according to the National Agriclulltural Statistics Service.
Christmas tree production
down as market stabilizes
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Oregon’s 2015 Christmas
tree sales were down 26 per-
cent from 2010, but an industry
representative said supply and
demand appear to be balancing
out and he expects 2016 to be a
good year.
Oregon growers cut and
sold 4.7 million trees in 2015,
compared to 6.4 million in
2010, according to a report
from the USDA’s National
Agricultural Statistics Service
in Portland. The 2015 harvest
was valued at $84.5 million,
down from $91 million in
2010. The number of growers
has dropped dramatically as
well, from 1,633 in 2010 to
690 in 2015.
Bryan Ostlund, executive
director of the Paciic North-
west Christmas Tree Associa-
tion in Salem, said the industry
went through a growth cycle
and reached a “signiicant
oversupply.” Since then, many
growers have retired or other-
wise gotten out of the business,
he said.
Oregon leads the nation
in Christmas tree produc-
tion. North Carolina, the sec-
ond leading state, also went
through growth problems,
Ostlund said. More than 90
percent of Northwest trees are
sold outside the region, with
California the biggest do-
mestic buyer. Export markets
include Mexico, Japan, Hong
Kong and the Philippines.
Oregon growers ship more
than 900,000 trees to Mexico
alone.
The drop in production has
been met with increased de-
mand. Ostlund said orders are
already arriving from tree lots
and importers. “A lot of grow-
ers, if they wanted to be sold
out, they could be sold out,” he
said. “The phones are ringing.”
He said the industry proba-
bly will ship fewer trees over-
seas this year, because domes-
tic demand is strong.
Don’t count Friends of
Family Farmers among the
groups praising the legacy of
Katy Coba, the departing di-
rector of the Oregon Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
In a prepared statement,
the Salem-based advocacy
group said Coba has over-
seen a “growing shift towards
promoting large, corporate,
factory-scale farming oper-
ations in Oregon even as the
state has been losing small
and mid-sized family farms in
large numbers.”
The group called on Gov.
Kate Brown to “pro-actively
shift the agency in a direc-
tion that better represents
the strong commitment that
Oregonians have to support-
ing sustainable, family-scale
farms and agriculture.”
Brown’s ofice announced
Aug. 24 that Coba has been
appointed the state’s chief
operating oficer and director
of the Department of Admin-
istrative Services, the state’s
top administrative agency.
The appointment is effective
Oct. 1, pending conirmation
by the Oregon Senate in Sep-
tember. Coba has been ag di-
rector since 2003.
Ivan Maluski, Friends
of Family Farmers policy
director, said Coba’s expe-
rience in state government
should serve her well, and
said the group appreciated
being able to raise issues and
make its points during her
tenure.
But he noted several dis-
agreements with Coba’s ad-
ministration over the years.
He said the department
was unwilling to support reg-
ulations that would protect
farmers from genetically en-
gineered crops and the growth
of “factory farms.”
He said the department
tried to expand canola pro-
duction areas in the Willa-
mette Valley in 2012. Special-
ty seed producers and food
safety activists iled suit to
stop the action, and the state
Court of Appeals sided with
opponents. The Legislature
eventually allocated money
for Oregon State Universi-
ty to set up canola test plots
and report back by November
2017.
In the past, the group criti-
cized the appointment of Mar-
ty Myers to the Oregon Board
of Agriculture, which advises
the director and the depart-
ment. Myers is general man-
ager of Threemile Canyon
Farms in Boardman, which
describes itself as one of the
nation’s largest dairy opera-
tions. It has 24,000 dairy cows
that produce an estimated
170,000 gallons of milk daily.
The operation also maintains
a herd of 25,000 replacement
heifers, according to the com-
pany website.
Services & Supplies
2016 Special Section
October 7th, 2016
ODFW says wolf attack was probable cause of sheep’s death
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
A ewe was killed and eat-
en in northeastern Oregon’s
Umatilla County in what the
state Department of Fish and
Wildlife has labeled a proba-
ble wolf attack.
The attack happened about
4 p.m. Aug. 16 on public land
in ODFW’s Mount Emily
wildlife management unit. A
sheep herder heard a noise
near his camp and found one
of his guard dogs ighting
with a black wolf. The herder
ired his rile into the air three
times, scaring off the wolf.
He found the ewe dead near
where the dog and wolf were
ighting.
The herder told a U.S.
Wildlife Services agent about
the attack two days later, and
ODFW joined in a follow-
Grass
Expertise.
up investigation. By then,
the sheep carcass had been
nearly consumed with only
the skeletal system, small
amounts of connective tis-
sue, hide, rumen, and wool
remaining, according to an
ODFW report.
No evidence of a wolf
attack could be found at the
site, but trail camera vid-
eo and tracks show a single
wolf had used the area, ac-
cording to ODFW. Coupled
with the herder’s statement,
it was enough for ODFW to
declare the incident a “prob-
able” wolf attack.
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