WASHINGTON: COUGAR-PLAGUED RANCHERS ASK LEGISLATORS TO RELEASE THE HOUNDS Page 10
Capital
Press
The West s
Weekly
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015
Accelerated
development may
expose crops to frost
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Unseasonably warm winter
temperatures have some North-
west crops stirring to life earlier
than usual, leaving them poten-
tially vulnerable to a cold snap,
experts say.
“We’re way ahead of what
we would expect,” said Len
Coop, associate director at Ore-
gon State University’s Integrat-
ed Plant Protection Center.
Accumulated heat units —
measured as “degree days” —
are signifi cantly higher than
normal in 2015 across the re-
gion, spurring the growth of
plants affected by temperature
rather than day length, accord-
ing to OSU data.
In the vicinity of Salem,
Ore., for example, the devel-
opment of crops is more than
two weeks ahead of 2014 and
a month ahead of 2013.
The danger is the seemingly
early arrival of spring will coax
buds to break and fl owers to
bloom at a time when a sudden
drop in temperatures remains
likely, experts say.
“They can be caught with a
late frost and that can be devas-
tating,” said Coop.
Growers of blueberries and
caneberries hope that tempera-
tures will be cool enough in
March to slow the emergence
of fl owers and tender plant tis-
sues without damaging them,
said Tom Peerbolt, a crop con-
sultant.
Farmers want to avoid ex-
tremes during late winter and
early spring, particularly if
crops are set to come out from
dormancy ahead of schedule, he
said.
“It’s got people nervous, for
sure,” he said. “Being this accel-
erated, it increases certain risk
factors, but none of those risks
at this point have played out.”
Fighting freezing tempera-
tures is not uncommon for
orchardists in areas like Ore-
gon’s Rogue Valley but an early
bloom threatens to extend the
length and expense of the battle.
Turn to SPRING, Page 12
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Livestock practices changing
Antibiotic resistance, better vaccines impact herd management
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
CHICO, Calif. — Producers are changing
the way they care for their livestock as increas-
ing regulation and consumer awareness bring
more scrutiny to the use of antibiotics in animal
agriculture.
New guidelines from the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration have effectively eliminat-
ed use of the drugs for livestock growth promo-
David Daley, left,
interim dean of the
California State
University-Chico
College of Agriculture,
discusses herd man-
agement with Garrett
Wallis, the student
herdsman for Chico
State’s beef unit.
tion or feed effi ciency, and even more restric-
tive rules are being considered at the federal and
state levels in an attempt to curb the problem of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans.
“No one wants to be the last person to play
by the rules,” said John Maas, a beef exten-
sion veterinarian at the University of Califor-
nia-Davis. “There’s always going to be bad
Tim Hearden
Capital Press
Turn to ANTIBIOTICS, Page 14
BACKLOG CLOGS
PORTS
Tens of thousands of
containers will take
months to clear as dock
worker slowdown ends
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
I
t will take two to three months to clear a
massive backlog of containers at West Coast
ports and allow exports and imports to fl ow
at normal levels again, a Pacifi c Maritime
Association spokesman says.
A tentative contract agreement between
the PMA and the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union, reached late Feb. 20, ended
a nine-month work slowdown at 30 West Coast
ports, from San Diego to Seattle, that cost billions
of dollars in lost trade.
It will take at least a month for the 73 termi-
nal operators and shipping lines that belong to the
PMA and 13,600 longshoremen to review and rati-
fy the contract, said Steve Getzug, a PMA spokes-
man.
Meanwhile, longshoremen resumed a normal
work pace with the Saturday night shift, Feb. 21,
beginning the task of clearing tens of thousands of
containers plugging dockyards at the ports, Getzug
said.
“It’s a complicated choreography,” he said of
moving the loaded and empty containers, clearing
paths to get to ships.
As of Monday, Feb. 23, 22 ships were be-
ing worked at dockside at Los Angeles and Long
Beach, Getzug said. Thirty-fi ve others were at an-
chor in those harbors waiting to get in and two doz-
en more were on their way, he said.
He didn’t have numbers for other ports but said
Los Angeles and Long Beach would have the most
ships and containers since they are the largest ports.
The only problem was at Oakland, where a dis-
agreement over work breaks held up operations
until Sunday night, he said.
Shipper leaves Portland
Wikimedia Commons
300 million tons
200
West Coast tonnage
of containerized
cargo, 1980-2013
NOTE: Beginning in 1984 revenue tonnage
was reported as the number of TEUs
(twenty-foot equivalent units) multiplied
by 17 (average revenue tons per TEU).
265.75 million tons:
Up 660.2% from 1980
100 34.96
million
tons
Another issue is the loss of Hanjin Shipping
at the Port of Portland as of March 9. Earlier this
month, Hanjin announced it would end service at
Turn to PORTS, Page 12
Source: Pacific Maritime Association
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
0
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1990
2000
2010 2013
THIS WEEK IN THE CAPITAL PRESS
Farm labor association
extends reach into
other states Page 3
Drone ban wins support from hunters
Legislation directs the Oregon Fish
and Wildlife Commission to write
regulations that prohibit drones for
hunting.
Page 15
9-4/#5
Early
spring
worries
growers
VOLUME 88, NUMBER 9