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!