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8 CapitalPress.com January 30, 2015 Ag board calls for legislative action on producer issues By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press The Oregon Board of Agriculture delivered a 55- page document to Gov. John Kitzhaber and the state Leg- islature asking for action on issues ranging from water and guest workers to estate taxes and labor problems at the Port of Portland. Fixing problems and seiz- ing opportunities in those and other areas are critical to an industry that is the state’s sec- ond-largest economic sector, after high-tech, and employs 1 in 10 Oregonians, according to the report. The report, required by state law, departs from pre- vious versions that tended to read like crop reports. In- stead, it gives lawmakers an overview of problems and op- portunities in six growing re- gions: The Coast, Willamette Valley, the Columbia River Gorge and plateau, and North- east, Southern and Central Or- egon. In addition, the report includes a “narrative” about each region, ag board Chair Steve Van Mouwerik said. “Once you get into the story of ag, then you get 100 stories,” Van Mouwerik said. “Then they become real to people.” The report’s recommen- dations cover a lot of ground. Oregon should press the U.S. House of Representatives, the report says, to pass an immigration reform bill that includes provisions for ag guest workers. It calls for new infrastructure to deliver water from the Willamette River ba- sin reservoirs to “new irriga- tors.” The report calls for state support in helping produc- ers explore local, regional and national markets, while noting that Oregon exported $2.6 billion worth of unpro- cessed agricultural products in 2013. The report says the estate transfer tax limit should be raised so young producers aren’t penalized so heavily when taking over the family farm. The report notes the “in- creasingly fragile” co-exis- tence of diverse Willamette Valley producers. Farmers in the valley are concerned about genetically engineered crops, cross-pollination, hon- eybee health, the impact of agri-tourism, land conversion and spray drift, in which one producer’s remedy can be an- other’s damage. Van Mouwerik said the re- port’s sections on water quality and quantity issues deserve at- tention from legislators. “We are really working hard in getting traction on meeting water quality goals,” he said. “There is a real commitment for that in agriculture.” Van Mouwerik, CEO of PacificAg, which among oth- er things sells wheat straw to United Arab Emirates for use as camel and goat feed, also noted how the Internet has reduced barriers to market ac- cess. “You can match up buyer and producer, and opportunity and an entrepreneurial grow- er, pretty quickly,” he said. “We feel like that sense of adventure and excitement we have in agriculture is commu- nicated to our legislators.” The 10-member Board of Agriculture advises the Ore- gon Department of Agricul- ture and by statute issues the biennial report on the indus- try. Public support for grazing strong in Idaho (Feedlots with 1,000-head capacity or more) By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Item U.S. feeder cattle numbers, Jan. 1 Capital Press Livestock grazing on pub- lic lands in Idaho pulled in high marks in the latest survey of Idaho residents by the Uni- versity of Idaho. A whopping 90 percent of those surveyed approved of livestock grazing on public lands, and 82 percent strongly or somewhat agreed livestock grazing should be kept as part of the management of public rangelands. “I feel it’s really good,” said Gretchen Hyde, execu- tive director of Idaho Range- land Resources Commission, which together with Idaho Preferred commissioned the survey. “The numbers are very strong.” A 90 percent approval rat- ing in any survey is impres- sive, she said, especially for an issue that seems so controver- sial in the media. The survey showed, once again, that Idaho residents val- ue grazing and multiple use on public lands, she said. The high rate of approval for livestock grazing was on par with approval of guided recreation on public lands and not much below the 95 percent approval of hunting and fish- ing and the 99 percent approv- al for hiking and camping. Logging (71 percent ap- (1,000 head) 2014 2015 On feed Jan. 1 10,590 Percent change 10,690 Item (1,000 head) 2013 2014 Placed on feed, Dec. Fed cattle marketed, Dec. Other disappearance, Dec.* 1,679 1,736 77 1 Percent change 1,544 1,655 72 -8 -4.7 -6.5 *Includes death loss, movement from feedlots to pasture, and shipments to other feedlots for further feeding. Source: USDA NASS Capital Press graphic December feedlot placements down 8 percent Courtesy Bureau of Land Management Livestock grazing on BLM lands near Price, Utah. Ninety percent of those surveyed by the University of Idaho approved of livestock grazing on public lands, and 82 percent strongly or somewhat agreed livestock grazing should be kept as part of the management of public rangelands. proval), ATV motorized ve- hicle use (65 percent approv- al) and energy development/ transmission lines (62 percent approval) were lower on the list of desirable activities on public land. In addition, 79 percent of those surveyed stated cattle and sheep producers manage rangeland in a responsible man- ner, and 84 percent said private rangelands provide a large por- tion of wildlife habitat. Respondents also gave ranchers an 84 percent reli- ability rating with respect to information about rangelands, followed closely by scientist (83 percent) and the Bureau of Land Management (80 per- cent). Environmentalists re- ceived a rating of 55 percent when it came to credibility of information. Fifty-seven percent of re- spondents rated the condition of Idaho’s rangelands as good or very good and 6 percent rated rangelands in poor or very poor conditions. However, almost 20 percent of those surveyed were “unsure.” The perception of rangeland health is an area of educational outreach focus by the Range- land Commission, Hyde said. Idaho has been through some By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press tough drought years, and range- land is the first to show the ef- fects. People take notice when areas are restricted, and there seems to be a growing aware- ness of rangeland conditions, she said. Public perception of wildfire as a problem on Idaho range- lands was on the low end of ex- pectations and shows an area of education that needs work, she said. A little under half (43 per- cent) of respondents ranked wildfire to be a “severe” or “significant” problem, with one- third of respondents ranking it as a moderate problem. While cattle on feed num- bers in large U.S. feedlots on Jan. 1, at 10.7 million, ran slightly above last year’s count, cattle placed in those feedlots in December were 8 percent below December 2013 and fed cattle marketed during Decem- ber were 5 percent below a year earlier. USDA’s cattle on feed re- port, released on Jan. 23 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, was close to the aver- age industry estimate that the Jan. 1 number would be up 1.4 percent and marketings would be down 4.2 percent. But place- ments were nearly twice as low as the average industry estimate of 4.3 percent fewer placements. John Deere Dealers See one of these dealers for a demonstration 5-5/#4N Analysts are viewing the report as somewhat bullish for cattle markets, but note price de- clines in cash markets last week. “Cattle supplies in the mar- ket remain tight and this would imply near record prices for much of 2015,” Steve Meyer and Len Steiner commented Monday morning in their Daily Livestock Report. However, futures markets in recent weeks have reflected weakness in the broader com- modity markets, lower exports and the risk of stagnant growth in key markets, they reported. USDA reported a $3.73 per hundredweight drop in the cash live fed steer price last week from a week earlier to $159.44 and a $6.83 per hundredweight drop in the north-central 600- 700 pound feeder steer price to $247.79. Choice beef cutout also fell, $4.66 per hundred- weight to $256.85. Those prices are still well above a year earlier, however, up $11.22 per hundredweight for live fed steers, $57.12 for feeder steers and $18.42 for choice cut- out, according to USDA. The cattle on feed report also showed fewer heifers on feed, indicating more heifers retained for breeding, and fewer feedlot placements at lower weights than a year earlier, indicating tighter fed supplies in the sum- mer and early fall. Cattle on feed on Jan. 1 was up 100,000 head and 1 percent above a year ago, with increases in Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Ida- ho, Washington and Minnesota, NASS reported. December placements, at 1.54 million, were down 135,000 head from December 2013 and were the lowest for the month in the past five year, com- ing in just under the 1.55 million placed in December 2009. Year-over-year placements were only up in Iowa and Ida- ho and were notably down 12 percent in Texas, 8 percent in Kansas, 2 percent in Nebraska, and 13 percent in Colorado. Year-over-year marketings of fed cattle in December were down 81,000 head with an additional marketing day in December 2014. Market- ings were notably down 13 percent in Texas, 4 percent in Kansas and 10 percent in Colorado, but up 5 percent in Nebraska. Heifers and heifer calves on feed in Jan. 1, at 3.67 mil- lion head, were down 59,000 head or 2 percent year over year. Steers and steer calves on feed, at 6.94 million, were up 155,000 head or 2 percent year over year. The number of cattle placed on feed in Decem- ber weighing less than 600 pounds was down 8.4 percent year over year. Feeder cattle weighing 600 to 700 pounds were down 11.8 percent, and feeders weighing 700 to 800 pounds were down 14 per- cent, Ron Plain, livestock economist with the University of Missouri reported. Placements of cattle weighing more than 800 pounds were up 2.6 percent, he said.