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.
OPEN Wed thru Sat 11-7
CLOSED Sun thru Tues
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