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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2019)
2A — THE OBSERVER D AILY P LANNER MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019 LOCAL Oregon hemp farmer gets crop at high altitude By Bill Bradshaw TODAY EO Media Group Today is Monday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2019. There are 64 days left in the year. JOSEPH — In his third year of growing hemp in Wallowa County, Shane Kimball is getting high — a high yield and high profi ts with a high-elevation crop. But the crop doesn’t give the kind of high that its intoxicating cousin, marijuana, does. He is one of about 1,650 Oregon farmers who have pioneered production of hemp since the crop was permitted by Oregon in 2015 and legalized nationally in the 2018 USDA Farm Bill. “I’ve been researching hemp for over 25 years and I’m very familiar with the things that it can do,” Kim- ball said at his Joseph-area farm. Kimball raises the 6-foot-high plants for their buds and fl owers, from which he produces cannabidiol (CBD) oil. Marijuana and hemp are both plants in the genus Cannabis. Many modern botanists, including the USDA, classify the genus Cannabis as having only one species, sativa, with varieties consisting of indica (Indian hemp — with a subvaria- tion called Gigantea or giant hemp), ruderalis (wild hemp), and vulgaris (cultivated hemp). However, most food and fi ber comes from C. sativa. Marijuana and hemp are varieties of the same plant — with one very important distinction. Although both contain THC and CBD, plants classifi ed as hemp must contain less than 0.3% of the mind-altering substance tetrahy- drocannabinol (THC.) But hemp usually contains higher levels of the medicinal substance CBD than its psychoactive cousin. CBD does appear to produce signifi cant changes in the body and some research suggests that it has medical benefi ts, including reduc- ing anxiety, preventing seizures and reducing infl ammation. The increas- ingly prevalent use of hemp is for the CBD oil used in medicinal and cosmetic applications. “I make a salve and a tincture,” Kimball said. “I make one that if you take internally it’s really good for anxiety, concussion.” He recently suffered a concussion and is fi nding CBD helpful in his recovery. He learned of CBD oil’s purported value to heal concussions from a former NFL quarterback at a convention of the Hemp Industries Association. He said many in the NFL use CBD oil because of all the concussions suffered in the game. Kimball was a member of the as- TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. ON THIS DATE In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy opened his fi rst New York store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan. In 1922, fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government. In 1940, Italy invaded Greece during World War II. In 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had or- dered the dismantling of mis- sile bases in Cuba; in return, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. installations in Turkey. In 2001, the families of peo- ple killed in the September 11 terrorist attack gathered in New York for a memorial service filled with prayer and song. In 2002, a student fl unk- ing out of the University of Arizona nursing school shot three of his professors to death, then killed himself. CORRECTION The Oct. 25 story ‘Providing big city medicine with home- town touch,’ on page 2A had an incorrect photo with the story as a result of a technical error. The version of the story on lagrandeobserver.com has the correct photo. LOTTERY Megabucks: $5.2 million 14-20-25-30-32-48 Mega Millions: $105 million 16-24-25-52-60-6-x3 Powerball: $140 million 3-20-48-54-59-4-x4 Bill Bradshaw/EO Media Group Hemp farmer Shane Kimball, of Joseph, examines drying hemp buds in a Quonset hut at his farm east of Joseph. He says to look at them, you can’t tell hemp from marijuana; it’s only with a chemical test that the difference can be determined. Bill Bradshaw/EO Media Group Part of Shane Kimball’s hemp crop hangs in a Quonset hut at his farm east of Joseph. He estimates this year’s bumper crop will yield about 3,000 pounds of buds. sociation, which is one of the oldest hemp promoters in the U.S., and he considers himself a hemp pioneer. This year, Kimball planted 7 acres in his fi elds in Joseph and Lostine. “Last year I grew 5 acres and this year I grew 7 but I got a bumper crop this year,” Kimball said. Kimball’s Lostine crop did well, producing almost four times as much as the previous year. He is certain his farm east of Joseph is the highest-eleva- tion hemp farm in the state. He estimates he’s harvested what will amount to about 3,000 pounds of hemp fl owers. He has plants hang- ing to dry in one Quonset hut, three greenhouses, a shop full “and then I have another undisclosed location that’s probably all that combined. I’ve got about three times as much as I had last year. I’m just getting bet- ter at growing it, honestly. I’ve just learned a few things.” Kimball’s attorney, Courtney Mo- ran, a Portland attorney prominent for her activism promoting hemp, helped write rules for hemp legaliza- tion in the farm bill. He claims credit for the idea to al- ter Oregon’s limit on four marijuana plants per person to four plants of hemp, marijuana or a mix of the two. “Believe it or not, I’m the guy who had the idea,” Kimball said. As with any farmer, profi t — and staying in business — depends on the market. Kimball said he removes the buds from the plants to process them. “I’m mostly in the fl ower market. I sell the fl ower to different folks and the leftovers I turn into the oil,” he said. “Last year, I got probably $50,000 an acre gross. But the oil prices have dropped.” “Now there’s 40-some thousand acres in Oregon, so the economy’s a scale.” Kimball may be estimating a little on the light side. The Register Guard reported in July that there were 1,642 registered hemp farmers in Oregon compared to 584 registered last year. Accord- ing to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, those farmers registered to plant more than 53,000 acres. He said one of the biggest prob- lems faced by growers is contami- nation from hemp and marijuana pollen and pesticide drift. Hemp pollen travels at least 3 to 5 miles and probably more, he said. “It’s only going to take a few people who don’t know what they’re doing to ruin it for everybody else,” he said. Legalization under the farm bill has, at least, reduced one headache. “Now that it’s federally legal to grow hemp, the banks have been way more cooperative this year,” Kimball said. “I hear that if you’re in the mari- juana industry, it’s still diffi cult.” Win for Life: Oct. 26 27-28-55-76 Pick 4: Oct. 27 •1p.m.:9-8-2-0 •4p.m.:7-8-7-9 •7p.m.:7-0-4-6 •10p.m.:4-5-5-0 Pick 4: Oct. 26 •1p.m.:3-9-7-9 •4p.m.:5-3-5-8 •7p.m.:6-1-5-9 •10p.m.:2-0-4-5 Pick 4: Oct. 25 •1p.m.:4-4-6-4 •4p.m.:1-3-9-4 •7p.m.:6-8-2-7 •10p.m.:1-1-8-3 NEWSPAPER LATE? Every effort is made to de- liver your Observer in a timely manner. Occasionally condi- tions exist that make delivery more diffi cult. If you are not on a motor route, delivery should be before5:30p.m.Ifyoudonot receiveyourpaperby5:30p.m. Monday through Friday, please call 541-963-3161 by 6 p.m. If your delivery is by motor carrier, delivery should be by 6 p.m. For calls after 6, please call 541-975- 1690, leave your name, address and phone number. Your paper will be delivered the next business day. QUOTE OF THE DAY “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” — George Orwell (Eric Blair), English author Natural gas rates to increase By Jade McDowell EO Media Group The Oregon Public Utility Commission has approved a rate increase for the state’s three regulated utilities, in- cluding Avista Natural Gas, starting Nov. 1. According to a news release by the commission, the cost of natural gas be- ing supplied to the utilities “spiked” over the last year due to a pipeline explosion that affected the regional supply. In the past 10 years, the commission stated, Or- egon residents have seen a decrease in their rates, other than in 2013 and 2014. PUC chair Megan Decker said in a statement that they appreciated those who testi- fi ed to remind the committee that rate increases impact customers negatively. “We recognize that exist- ing low-income programs are inadequate at meeting the needs of all customers to help address adjustments in rates, but we’ll continue to fi nd ways to close that gap,” she said. Come in today and let our Avista Natural Gas, which serves the La Grande area, received approval for an overall increase of 10% in November, plus a 2.5% increase in January to cover non-gas costs. When both increases are in place, typical residential customers using 46 therms per month will see their bill increase from $48.11 to $55.41 at a 15.2% increase. “People Who Care” 1123 Adams Ave., La Grande 541-963-5741 redcrossdrugstore.com HAPPY & FESTIVE! 215 Elm Street La Grande (541) 963-5440 northwestfurnitureandmattress.com Grande Ronde Hospital proudly welcomes: Eve Koltuv, MD Joining the Grande Ronde Hospital and Clinics team as a Pediatrician Dr. Eve Koltuv joins the GRH Children’s Clinic from Brooklyn, New York, where she spent several years as a Pediatrician after completing her residency and receiving her Doctor of Medicine from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Dr. Koltuv enjoys working with children and teens – getting to know them, building relationships with them, and watching them grow and change over time. She is passionate about creating a partnership with parents and sees herself as a guide through medical issues as well as parenting concerns. Her practice focuses on the whole child, especially growth and development, behavior, healthy sleep and lifestyle habits, and good nutrition. When not caring for patients, Dr. Koltuv enjoys spending time outdoors, including hiking, backpacking, nordic and alpine skiing, and biking. She is an avid reader, loves to travel, and especially relishes time playing and adventuring with her husband and two children. CARING STAFF help your FALL be Commercial customers us- ing 197 therms per month will see an increase from $174.15 to $194.66. Indus- trial customers using 3,990 therms per month will see an increase from $1,640.57 to $1,910.06. Cascade Natural Gas, which serves Hermiston and Pendleton, received approval for an overall increase of 8.5%, raising $5.3 million. FAMILY OWNED GRH Women’s & Children’s Clinic Eve Koltuv, MD 710 Sunset Drive, Suite E, La Grande 541.663.3150 • grh.org/pediatrics/ Learn more about Dr. Koltuv in our online Provider Directory at www.grh.org today!
