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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2021)
BUSINESS & AG LIFE 2B — THE OBSERVERW THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2021 History of hops growing refl ects the PNW of today Virtual presentation explores the lives of workers in industry CAFE Continued from Page 1B restaurant that has been a pioneer in the farm-to-table movement, a philosophy of cooking that’s become pop- ular with restaurants in the past few decades. It’s a phi- Northwest—its environ- ment, people, culture and economy—while tying the history and legacy of its prized hops industry to national understand- ings of labor and immigra- tion,” Dearinger said in the release. Noting he doesn’t study brewing itself, Dearinger, a labor historian, focuses instead on immigration, migration, working con- ditions and debates over national belonging. When starting his research, two aspects of the topic stood out. Because of the short- term, seasonal work these laborers were hired to do, there was little to no paper trail, which made the research particularly chal- lenging and is likely the reason why no book-length studies of hop-pickers said the slim chances for advancement within the ranks were one of the fac- tors in her decision to move to La Grande. The other was family. The farm-to-table phi- losophy requires a network of growers — a network that remains in its nascent stages in Northeastern Oregon, where most of the area’s agricultural focus is on large quantities of goods such as wheat or hay and less emphasis on restau- rant staples. Funk, though, is optimistic the farm-to- table scene will grow in the coming years. “I think there are going to be awesome farms out here, but they’re a little bit more in their infancy and just starting out — and people are just starting to get interested in them to start to grow them.” said Funk. “We want to build good relationships with farmers, and not just sprinkle it in” The big plans toward merging the two venues together is several years away. But Over is in no rush. “We’re still working things out but it’s going well,” Over said. “It feels good.” • Tune into the presen- tation Feb. 11 at 4 p.m via Zoom at eou.zoom. us/j/96204268353#success. • For more information about upcoming col- loquium visit eou.edu/ colloquium. The Observer LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon Universi- ty’s latest presentation in its colloquium series focuses on hop-picking cultures in Oregon, Washington and northern California from the late 19th cen- tury through the late 20th century. Ryan Dearinger, asso- ciate professor of history at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, presents his col- loquium on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 4 p.m. via Zoom. Pre- senting on his book project, “Beer’s Dirty Work: Native, Immigrant, and Amer- ican Hop-Pickers in the Pacifi c Northwest,” Dear- inger explores the lives and struggles of workers in the region’s hops industry. Prized hop fi elds put the region in the national and international spotlight from the 1870s on as the North- west cultivated its reputa- tion as the hops — and later have been written. “The second thing (was) how incredibly diverse the labor force actually was. This included a kaleido- scope of human beings — you have American reset- tlers, European, Asian and Mexican immigrants, Indig- enous peoples, convicts, prisoners of war and ages ranging from very young to very old. All of them are picking hops, sometimes together in the same loca- tion, and they’re doing it seasonally,” Dearinger said. “It’s one of those stories that suggests to us, despite their incredible diversity, just how much working people have in common until they’re told, whether through politics, xeno- phobia, fear or conspiracy theories—they don’t.” As a historian, Dearinger is interested in using stories and episodes from the past to illuminate bigger ques- tions and issues. “Often the most mean- ingful histories offer us a window into the past,” according to Dearinger said, “but then hold up a mirror for the present. I try to achieve this in my book.” WHERE TO GO craft beer — capital of the world. Far less is known, however, about the people who picked hops. “Motivated through holes he noticed in schol- arly research, Dearinger has spent the last sev- eral years becoming more familiar with the condi- tions these workers faced,” according to a press release from EOU. “Their labor coincided with the hops industry’s massive expan- sion, rampant business cor- ruption, labor radicalism, indigenous relocations, burgeoning tourism and furious campaigns against Native Americans, immi- grants and labor unions with no shortage of vio- lence and repression.” “My book should fi ll some gaping holes in the study of the Pacifi c losophy that she envisions as the future of the cafe. “It really shaped how I see food, and the food industry — and builds relationships with farmers.” Funk said of her time at Panisse. Still, she wanted more from the restaurant industry and Sundquist Research Library Yakima Valley Museum/Contributed Photo Hop picking at North Yakima, Washington, circa 1910. Eastern Oregon University history professor Ryan Dearinger discusses his new book project about hop-picking cultures in the Pacifi c Northwest via Zoom at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021. Agricultural economist will off er a look into future at Ag Show By MATTHEW WEAVER Capital Press PULLMAN, Wash. — At this time of year, wheat farmers should pay atten- tion to the pace of exports, a Northwest ag economist says. If there are more exports than the USDA projections, that’s price positive. If there are less, prices might decline, said Randy Fortenbery, small grains economist at Wash- ington State University. Fortenbery will offer his annual economic anal- ysis during this year’s vir- tual Spokane Ag Show. For 2021, Fortenbery will look at USDA crop acreage projections, fall delivery prices for wheat and how they will affect spring plantings. Corn acres are expected to be slightly down, but soybeans are expected to be up. He will weigh the effect on wheat plantings. The 2021 U.S. wheat supply could be smaller than in 2019 or 2020, because carryover will be down if exports continue at their current pace. The decline could be greater than the acreage increase with average yields would produce, Fortenbery said. “It’s not clear that supply will be signifi cantly higher even if acreage goes up,” he said. Other forecasters made early predictions that the number of U.S. wheat acres could increase. Those projections were made before any winter wheat seeding surveys, Fortenbery said. Spring wheat seeding information is available in June. Online ordering, carry-out, and delivery available “While there is a bit of an increase, it doesn’t nec- essarily translate into a huge increase of supply if ending stocks go down as they’re expected to this coming year,” Fortenbery said. Due to Governor Brown’s orders and categorizing the county at Extreme Risk, we are currently only open for Carry-out and Delivery. We now have online ordering and our hours have temporarily changed. 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