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News
wallowa.com
March 18, 2015
Wallowa County Chieftain
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Melville family strongly
focused on soil health
By Jennifer Hobbs
For the Wallowa County
Chieftain
All farmers face the peren-
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tices that are both sustainable
for the land and economically
viable. The Melville family of
the multi-generational Corner-
stone Farms joint venture in
Enterprise uses an innovative
combination of strategies for
success, including no-till di-
rect seeding, custom farming/
harvesting, seed production,
partnerships, and technology.
Farming in Wallowa Coun-
Main St, Joseph • 541-432-1917
ty for more than 40 years, Tim
Melville was a regional pio-
neer of direct seeding, a meth-
od that puts both seed and
fertilizer directly into narrow
rows cut into the residue from
the previous year’s crop. The
residue — stubble, root struc-
ture, and accumulated organic
matter — keeps water and the
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nating erosion and mitigating
the movement of agricultural
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clude improved soil fertility,
reduced consumption of fuel,
better wildlife habitat and
higher water and air quality.
The direct seeding tech-
nique requires expensive
specialized equipment, but al-
lows the farmer to plant a crop
in one or two passes.
“It’s a lot more expensive
to buy equipment, but this one
piece of machinery replaces a
dozen others,” said son Kurt
Melville, who was born and
raised on the farm and is now a
partner in the joint venture.
Courtesy photo
See MELVILLES, Page A9
The growing Cornerstone Farms, J.V. family: Tim, Audry, Kurt,
Heather, Aubrina, Case, Alisha and Maclane Melville.
Oregon farm facts
Did you know?
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Celebrating 98 years of sustaining
Wallowa County’s agriculture industry.
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By the numbers: Oregon farms in 2013
35,000
16.5 million
471
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Celebrating Wallowa County’s Agricultural Heritage
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Field crops
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$378.8 million
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107 SW 1st Street, Suite 112
Enterprise
www.edisonperry.com
541-426-6364
Commodity
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Wallowa County con-
tains 850,000 acres private
land of which approximate-
ly 90,000 acres has been
farmed at some point in the
last century. There is currently
just over 45,000 acres of land
under irrigation. The vast ma-
jority of the irrigated land lies
in the Wallowa Valley with
small acreages in the Imnaha
and the Chesnimnus areas.
Wheat, barley, hay and
livestock have dominated ag-
ricultural productions for over
100 years. Prior to adequate
transportation
modes,
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ting cereal grains to market
so they raised pigs and then
— walked their produce to
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802 NW 1 • Enterprise • 541.426.3139
st
Supporting Our Local Farmers & Ranchers
In Wallowa County Since 1955
.
.
60 YEARS
195
Partner With Us
To Reach Your Personal
or Business Financial Goals!
Contact Your Local Community
Bank Lending Team To Discuss Your
Financing Needs Today!
5
Adrian Harguess
VP/Commercial
Loan Officer
541-432-9050
541-426-4511
-
2015
Member FDIC
Head
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market. In the 1920s, Wal-
lowa County marketed over
26,000 hogs. However, today
there are no commercial hog
farmers left in Wallowa Coun-
ty. When improved transpor-
tation was developed, wheat
and barley were sent to mar-
ket by trucks and train.
In the early nineteen hun-
dreds 45,000 fat hogs, 34,000
cattle, 8,700 sheep and 4,500
horses were shipped in one
year.
Today nearly 24,000 acres
of cropland is in the Conserva-
tion Reserve Program. Another
13,000 acres of cropland has
been seeded to permanent pas-
ture. Over 3000 livestock ponds
and 3600 watering troughs pro-
vide water in the uplands away
from riparian areas.
Irrigation, Dams and
Reservoirs
Prior to irrigation a large
portion of the county was
desert-like. Irrigation claims
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steaders into the valley. These
early homesteaders claimed
individual rights and later on,
groups began claiming rights
as ditch companies. Most
of the water rights that exist
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1960s. Today there are over
45,000 acres of water rights in
Wallowa County with the ear-
liest dating back to the 1870‘s.
Hay
Production of hay has been
the largest crop in the county
since the early 1930‘s. Wal-
lowa County has traditionally
been known for its high quali-
ty hay production. The higher
elevation and cooler tempera-
tures during the growing sea-
son allows Wallowa County
producers to grow high qual-
ity hay with small stems and
good relative feed value.
Trends in Livestock
Grazing in Wallowa Coun-
ty has occurred for centuries.
Livestock grazing began in
the early 1700‘s when the Nez
Perce acquired horses and
continues today with nearly
28,000 head of cattle in lo-
cal operations. Over 12,000
head of those cattle graze on
public land at some time each
year. The total number of
cattle swells during the sum-
mer when between 6,000 and
8,000 stock and paired cattle
rent pasture and are seasonal-
ly grazed.
Livestock in the Early
Settlement Years
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dent of the county is record-
ed in the Wallowa County
Chieftain on October 3, 1940
See TIDBITS, Page A9
Supporting agriculture in Wallowa County
Hanley Kennedy
VP/Commercial
Loan Officer
541-432-9050
541-963-3434
Wallowa Title Company
Local Money Working For Local People
www.communitybanknet.com
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Commodity
Supporting Wallowa County Farmers
and Ranchers Since 1984
Tires • Custom Wheels
Shocks/Struts • Brakes
Batteries • Alignment • Siping
Air Check • Tire Rotation
Wiper Blades
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Production
Livestock inventory $VRI-DQ
Value ($ millions)
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Acres
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Value of Oregon agriculture exports, 2012
Value of Oregon agriculture in 2013
Crop
Diane Witherrite
Shannon Maslach
AVP/Branch Manager
Branch Manager
Joseph
Enterprise
541-432-9050
541-426-4511
NMLS # 1082566
Theresa Spaur
Branch Manager
Wallowa
541-886-9151
109 SE First Street, Enterprise, Oregon
541-426-3829
