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CapitalPress.com
June 23, 2017
People & Places
Helping Western landscapes go native
Native Roots
markets plants that
were domesticated
by UI researcher
Western
Innovator
Capital Press
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
Product development:
Steve Love, University of
Idaho Extension horticulturist
Lead grower and produc-
tion manager: Andy West
Owner and CEO: Steve
Paulson
Products: Native plants and
seeds
Courtesy University of Idaho
Steve Love, University of Idaho horticulture specialist, with shrubby penstemon.
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
Andy West, lead grower and production manager at Nature Roots,
checks a plot of arrowleaf buckwheat at the company’s production
facility south of Twin Falls, Idaho, on June 9.
als to back up the principles,
he said.
That put Love on the path
of trying to “create a whole
pallet of plants people can
landscape with and save wa-
ter.”
His first efforts to collect
native plants were during a
camping trip to the Pioneer
Mountains in 2005. Since
then he’s collected about half
of the materials. The other
half has come from other col-
lectors, and he has seeds and
plants from many sources.
Domesticating those spe-
cies, which are highly vari-
able, to produce a consistent
and viable commercial prod-
uct is a long-term endeavor.
It takes years of breeding, se-
lection and cultivation. Once
he had several species stabi-
lized, the Native Roots people
stepped up to develop a mar-
ket for the plants, he said.
“It’s been a really exciting
deal. I have a lot of personal
investment in the plants,” he
said.
Six years ago, Native
Roots started bringing Love’s
plants into their operation to
begin seed production.
“We’re trying to create a
whole new line from wild-
flowers. It’s been a fascinating
process,” Love said.
Native species now flour-
ish on 130 Native Roots plots,
where plants are grown and
harvested for seed. The seed
is cleaned and either sold or
planted to produce plugs.
Both are sold to wholesale
nurseries, said Andy West,
Native Roots lead grower and
production manager.
The native species can re-
place ornamentals in landscapes
to save water and increase polli-
nators. Because they are peren-
nial, there’s no need to replant
every year, he said.
‘Giving back’
“Essentially, it’s giving
back to the environment,
putting back what’s already
there, creating a natural eco-
system with native plants,”
he said.
Operation: 14-acre produc-
tion facility, three green-
houses
Employees: 4 full-time, 4 to
7 part-time
Legal contract: Licensing
agreement with University of
Idaho to bring the products
to market
Native Roots started mar-
keting 31 species in 2014 and
adds five species to the offer-
ings every year to avoid satu-
rating the market.
“Most nurseries only have
a small section dedicated to
native plants. We’re trying to
educate the public on options
available to them,” he said.
Lack of education is the
only thing keeping the busi-
ness from booming, he said.
In addition to its Native
Roots branded line for use in
ornamental landscapes, the
company also produces other
genetically diverse plants and
seeds that were not developed
by Love. They go to resto-
ration projects.
In that business, the com-
pany sells as much as 1-1/2
tons of seed, including a na-
tive turf grass mix, and up
to 250,000 restoration-grade
plants a year.
Marion County Farm Bureau to honor NORPAC Foods at concert
SALEM, Ore. — The
Marion County Farm Bureau
will present its 2017 Modern
Agriculture Award to NOR-
PAC Foods on stage June 30
at the Elsinore Theatre be-
fore the start of a concert by
country-western artist Ned
LeDoux.
“Our purpose is to pro-
mote, protect and advance
farm interests in Marion
County. This award is a for-
mal expression of thanks for
the major investment made
in recent years by NORPAC
Foods to expand its operations
in Salem,” said John Zielins-
ki, president of the Marion
County Farm Bureau, in a
press release. “NORPAC has
been committed to our valley
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................Editor & Publisher
Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director
Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor
Jessica Boone ........ Production Manager
Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager
Native Roots
Easy decision
“It was not a hard decision
to make the move,” Love said,
adding that he also enjoyed
his work in potatoes.
When he made that switch,
which mostly involved teach-
ing and training, he also
wanted to develop a unique
research project. Idaho was in
the middle of its last signifi-
cant drought cycle, and with a
static water supply and grow-
ing demand it was clear land-
scapers were going to have to
learn to get by with a little less
water, he said.
He and then UI turf grass
researcher Tom Salaiz started
teaching water-saving princi-
ples for home landscapes. But
they needed the plant materi-
Established 1928
Board of directors
Mike Forrester
Steve Forrester
Kathryn Brown
Susan Rana
Mike Omeg
Corporate Officer
John Perry
Chief Operating Officer
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A
small company is making big
strides as a supplier of orna-
mental plant species native to
the Great Basin.
Now in its fourth year of
sales, Native Roots will sup-
ply wholesale nurseries in
the region with 30,000 plant
plugs and about 10,000 seeds.
The company markets 46
species of ornamental native
plants and has more than 500
species in development.
The business started with
baby steps and the tenacity of a
University of Idaho researcher.
Steve Love, a long-time potato
breeder, got the opportunity to
shift gears to horticulture and
native plants — his first loves
— in 2005 when the university
wanted to strengthen its hor-
ticulture extension work. The
university created the position
of statewide consumer horti-
culture specialist and tapped
Love for the job.
Capital Press
Courtesy NORPAC Foods
NORPAC Foods will be honored by the Marion County Farm
Bureau at an upcoming concert in Salem.
and its growers for over 90
years, and this latest invest-
ment strengthens all of agri-
business here. Marion County
Farm Bureau appreciates the
work and the people of NOR-
PAC Foods. Please join us for
a great evening and concert.”
Tickets for the concert,
which starts at 7:30 p.m. on
Friday, June 30, can be found
at ElsinoreTheatre.com, or
by calling the box office at
503-375-3574.
Reserved
seat prices range from $20
to $30.
NORPAC Foods Inc. is
a farmer-owned cooperative
that grows and processes
frozen vegetables and fruit,
along with canning vegeta-
bles. Headquartered in Salem,
NORPAC is Oregon’s largest
fruit and vegetable processor.
NORPAC was established
as Stayton Canning Co. in
1924 and now operates pro-
cessing and packaging facili-
ties in Stayton, Salem, Brooks
and Hermiston, Ore., and in
Quincy, Wash.
The co-op was among
the first processors to use
quick-freezing units to pro-
duce what are known as In-
dividually Quick Frozen, or
IQF, products.
More than 200 farmers
grow on contract with NOR-
PAC, raising 27 different
crops ranging from strawber-
ries, broccoli and cauliflower
to zucchini, corn, beans and
peas. According to the co-op
website, NORPAC is Ore-
gon’s largest vegetable and
fruit processor and the largest
unionized agricultural em-
ployer in the state.
The co-op has about 1,000
full-time workers and em-
ploys up to 3,500 during the
peak harvest and processing
season.
Entire contents copyright © 2017
EO Media Group
dba Capital Press
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published every Friday.
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Calendar
Sponsored by:
To submit an event go to the
Community Events calendar on the
home page of our website at www.
capitalpress.com and click on “Submit
an Event.” Calendar items can also be
mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broad-
way St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 or
emailed to newsroom@capitalpress.
com.
Saturday, June 24
Washington State Dairy Am-
bassador Coronation. 5-9 p.m.
Byrnes Performing Arts Center,
18821 Crown Ridge Blvd., Arlington,
Wash. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the
program beginning at 5:30. This year
dinner will not be provided; instead
there will be light hors d’oeuvres and
refreshments served during a short
intermission. Tickets purchased by
June 16 will be adults $20, students
$10, and under 6 years free. Tickets
purchased after June 16 or at the
door will be adults $25, students $15,
under 6 still free. For ticket informa-
tion, please contact Gloria Edwards
by email at gloria.wsdw@hotmail.
com or 360-273-7313. Website: http://
wastatedairywomen.org/ambassa-
dor-contest.html
Sunday, June 25
Sierra Nevada Lavender and
Honey Festival. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Downtown Sparks, Nev. In addition
to lavender and honey products from
local producers, the festival will fea-
ture arts and crafts, event-themed
food, music, guest speakers and
demonstrations, a children’s area
with train rides, free yoga sessions
and even a signature beer from
Great Basin Brewing Co. Website:
www.lavenderandhoneyfest.com
Tuesday, June 27
Range Field Day. 8:30 a.m.-4
p.m. Northern Great Basin Experi-
mental Range, 100 Placidea Butte
Road, Riley, Ore. Presentations
will include managing wildfires,
livestock grazing for fuels manage-
ment, safe sites and restoration of
sagebrush rangeland. For more
information, contact Chad Boyd,
office: 541-573-8939, cell: 541-
589-4990, email: chad.boyd@ore-
gonstate.edu. To RSVP for lunch, call
Petrina White at 541-573-4085.
Wednesday, June 28
Caneberry Field Day. 1-5 p.m.
North Willamette Research and
Extension Center, 15210 NE Miley
Road, Aurora, Ore. Pesticide regis-
tration updates; pollinator protection;
weed management; and an introduc-
tion to two new OSU faculty mem-
bers, Greg O’Neill, IR-4 Field Center
Director, NWREC, and Marcelo
Moretti, weed management, Depart-
ment of Horticulture. Other topics are
the spotted wing drosophila, strat-
egies for replanting red raspberry,
biocontrol of brown marmorated stink
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
bug and irrigation practices to enhance
fruit quality. Walk through the latest ad-
vanced selections and new cultivars in
the caneberry breeding plots. Website:
http://oregonstate.edu/dept/NWREC/
Wednesday-Saturday
June 28-July 1
128th Annual Washington State
Grange Convention. Ocean Shores
Convention Center, 120 W. Chance a
La Mer NW, Ocean Shores, Wash.
Thursday-Friday
June 29-30
3rd International Conference
on Livestock & Nutrition. 9 a.m.-7
p.m. Avani Atrium, 880 Phetch-
aburi Road, Bangkok, Thailand.
The Bangkok Livestock Nutrition
Conference welcomes attend-
ees, presenters and exhibitors
from all over the world. Cost:
$699. Website: http://livestock-
nutrition.conferenceseries.com/.
Friday, June 30
Farm Practices to Support Ben-
eficial Insects. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Day 2
of this two-day class will offer a tour
of the Wandering Fields farm in the
Applegate area. Participants will
practice identifying beneficials and
observe how a blend of hedgerows,
cover crops, flowering seed crops
and native plants creates a system
of biological pest management.
Participation on Day 1 on June 9
20 Northwest Locations
is a requirement to attend the tour.
Cost: $15 one/$25 two from the
same farm. Website: http://bit.ly/
JacksonSmallFarmDream.
Bark Beetle Field Day. 8
a.m.-5 p.m. University of Ida-
ho Extension Kootenai County
office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur
d’Alene, Idaho. Participants will
get first-hand exposure to ma-
jor bark beetles’ biology and
research into controlling bark
beetles. Pre-register by June 23.
Cost: $20 ($22 with a credit card
at www.uidaho.edu/BarkBeetle)
Website: www.uidaho.edu/exten-
sion/forestry
Friday-Tuesday
June 30-July 4
St. Paul Rodeo. Rodeo Are-
na, 20045 Fourth St. NE, St.
Paul, Ore. The St. Paul Rodeo
will continue to bring a slice of
the old West to the north Willa-
mette Valley. Information: (503)
633-2011, tickets@stpaulrodeo.
com, Website: http://www.stpaul-
rodeo.com/
Saturday-Tuesday
July 1-4
Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo, 815
Shirley St., Molalla, Ore. The
Molalla Buckeroo Rodeo has
been an Oregon tradition since
September 1913. 503-829-8388.
1-800-765-9055
Website:
http://www.molalla-
buckeroo.com/
Thursday-Sunday
July 6-9
Marion County Fair. Oregon
State Fairgrounds, 2330 17th St.
NE, Salem, Ore. Website: http://
www.co.marion.or.us/CS/Fair
Friday-Saturday
July 7-8
2nd Annual Prineville Truck
and Tractor Pull. 7 p.m. Friday,
4 p.m. Saturday. Crook Coun-
ty Fairgrounds, 1280 Main St.,
Prineville, Ore. Website: www.
crookcountyfairgrounds.com
Idaho State Ram Sale. Twin
Falls County Fair Grounds,
215 Fair Ave., Filer, Idaho. The
“Suffolk Show of the West” be-
gins at 6 p.m. Friday and con-
tinues at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
For more information, call 208-
344-2271 or email idahowool@
gmail.com Website: idahowool.
org
Wednesday, July 12
Blueberry Field Day. 1-5 p.m.
North Willamette Research and
Extension Center, 15210 NE Mi-
ley Road. Aurora, Ore. Find out
about the latest research in blue-
berries. http://oregonstate.edu/
dept/NWREC/
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Index
California ................................ 7
Dairy .....................................11
Idaho ...................................... 8
Livestock ..............................11
Markets ............................... 13
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon .................................. 9
Washington ......................... 10
Correction
In a story that ran in the June 16
editions of the Capital Press, the
name of April Snell, executive
director of the Oregon Water Re-
sources Congress, was incorrect.
The Capital Press regrets the error.
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital
Press staff and to our readers.
If you see a misstatement,
omission or factual error in a
headline, story or photo caption,
please call the Capital Press
news department at
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