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CapitalPress.com
June 26, 2015
Portland’s Zenger Farm
bridges urban, rural divide
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Photos by Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Hilda Rodriguez and Isabel Sanchez Moran double check fruit size on Chelan Fruit Cooperative’s new,
high-tech, red cherry line at its Beebe plant east of Chelan, Wash., June 18. New systems ensure
consistent quality in markets.
NW cherry growers
report lighter crop
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
YAKIMA, Wash. — The
Pacific Northwest sweet cher-
ry crop may have peaked
early with 10 to 20 percent
lighter volume than expect-
ed because of hot weather,
drought, rain, hail and a short-
age of labor.
What was originally
forecast as a 19.7-million,
20-pound-box fresh crop
maybe closer to 16 million
boxes.
As of June 21, shipments
totaled 8.2 million boxes
which is probably about half
the crop, said B.J. Thurlby,
president of Northwest Cher-
ry Growers,Yakima, the in-
dustry trade group. Of that,
2.3 million boxes have been
exported and the daily peak so
far is 543,618 boxes on June
18, he said. That may be the
season peak, he said. Demand
is strong going into Fourth of
July sales, he said.
California finished a
5.9-million, 18-pound-box
crop on June 8. Worries of a
big overlap didn’t materialize,
instead Washington shippers
were under pressure for cher-
ries to cover ads the first week
A 9-row Rainier cherry, left, is
considered decent size. Larger
cherry to right may be a 7 to
6 row at Mike Prey’s orchard,
Orondo, Wash., June 18.
of June, Thurlby said.
As of June 22, 90 percent
of Washington’s Bing crop
was harvested and 70 percent
of Rainiers, he said. Harvest
was beginning to move into
later varieties at higher eleva-
tions.
Picking started the earli-
est ever on May 24 and will
be all but done by the end of
July. With later crops, August
production has gone as high
as 5 million boxes but it may
be less than 500,000 this year,
Thurlby said. He had thought
a new 11-million-box record
would be set in June, but now
thinks it will be 9 million to
10 million boxes and July will
be 6 million to 7 million.
Rain reduced early vari-
ety volumes, drought reduced
later volumes in the Lower
Yakima Valley. Hot weath-
er around June 9 took a toll.
Growers were concerned
about triple digits returning
June 26 with peaks over 110
forecast for June 28.
There’s a lot of 75- to
80-percent packouts com-
pared with a lot over 90 per-
cent last year, Thurlby said.
Oregon has some gorgeous
cherries but the heat reduced
what was already a light crop
from last November’s freeze,
he said.
Packers were running 20 to
30 percent short of estimates
on pre-sales of red cher-
ries leaving no spot market
for tracking prices, said Jeff
Main, reporter at USDA Mar-
ket News, Yakima.
“If we had a spot market,
prices probably would be
good,” he said.
Rainier cherries were $50
to $55 per 15-pound box
wholesale on the spot mar-
ket, June 19, compared with
$45 to $50 at the same vol-
ume point a year ago, Main
said.
“Rainiers took a big hit”
from the June 9 heat, said
Howard Nager, vice president
of marketing, Domex Super-
fresh Growers, Yakima.
America’s Farm and Ranch Database
PORTLAND — Zenger
Farm, which operates at the
edge of one of the city’s poor-
est neighborhoods, opened the
doors June 22 on a facility in-
tended to train the next genera-
tion of farmers, consumers and
food entrepreneurs
The Urban Grange, built
with $2.3 million in donations,
has 6,600 square feet of class-
room, office and meeting space.
A commercial kitchen is avail-
able for start-up food businesses
and community events.
The Grange — the name
was used with permission from
the national Grange — is part
community center, part conduit
to proper nutrition and a vibrant
local food system.
Through camps for children,
school visits, adult classes and
presentations, families learn
where food comes from, how
to grow it and how to prepare it,
Executive Director Mike Wen-
ricksaid.
Rural residents who grow up
in agricultural settings already
understand farming, Wenrick
said. But he asked a group of
children recently where eggs
come from and one boy an-
swered, “A carton.”
“It might be a novelty to
see the reaction children have
to pulling a carrot out of the
ground,” Wenrick said.
“In an urban environment, a
lot of the (food system) educa-
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
A boy attending camp at Zenger Farm in Southeast Portland holds
a chicken for the first time. The farm, owned by the city, offers
classes, camps and tours, and trains new farmers.
tion rural children get is not hap-
pening,” said Laleña Dolby, Ze-
nger’s communications director.
Zenger’s programs help
them value the farming lifestyle
and farmers as well, Dolby said.
That can pay off when they’re
adults and decide issues that af-
fect agriculture.
“That urban piece is what
makes us unique,” she said.
About 10,000 people visit
the farm annually, and Wenrick
expects that to double now that
the Grange is up and operating.
Zenger Farm has emerged
over the years as a bridge be-
tween urban and rural. The 16-
acre property is owned by the
city of Portland and operated by
the non-profit Friends of Zenger
Farm.
The farm founded and sup-
ports the Lents International
Farmers Market, which serves
NW wheat growers eye early harvest
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
FAIRFIELD, Wash. – Lonnie
Green could be harvesting his
wheat two weeks early this year.
“We’ve had above-normal
temperatures, drier conditions —
we’re below on precipitation,”
the Fairfield, Wash., farmer said
while driving around his wheat
and Kentucky bluegrass fields
the morning of June 25. Normal-
ly, he swathes bluegrass around
July 4 but that, too, is early this
year.
Green usually harvests in Au-
gust, but expects to be harvesting
wheat in the last week of July.
Across the Pacific Northwest
farmers are likely to begin har-
vesting early, say representatives
of the region’s state wheat agen-
cies.
Harvest in drier areas of Ore-
gon was to begin as soon as June
22, said Blake Rowe, CEO of
the Oregon Wheat Commission.
Most areas are probably two to
three weeks ahead of normal.
Harvest is running ahead of
schedule in Idaho, said Blaine Ja-
cobson, executive director of the
Idaho Wheat Commission. Har-
vest usually begins at the latter
part of July, but it could be in full
swing by then this year.
The Washington crop is two
to three weeks ahead of schedule,
said Scott Yates, director of com-
munications for the Washington
Grain Commission. But many
farmers in intermediate rainfall
and drier areas interseeded spring
wheat into fields affected by win-
terkill, so they’ll have to wait
until the spring wheat is mature
before they can harvest. Harvest
in Washington usually begins in
drier areas after July 4, Yates said.
Oregon’s crop is likely to be
below average in yield, but above
average in protein, which isn’t
preferred by soft white wheat
LEGAL
PUBLIC NOTICE BY WASHINGTON STATE PORK PRODUCERS
ASSOCIATION AND THE NATIONAL PORK BOARD
The election of pork producer delegate candidates for the 2016
National Pork Producers (Pork Act) Delegate Body will take place at 1:00
pm, Wednesday, July 8, 2015 in conjunction with a Board of Directors
meeting of Washington State Pork Producers Association, in Room 1 of
the Washington Association of Wheat Growers building, at 109 East 1st.
Street, Ritzville, Washington, 99169. All Washington State pork
producers are invited to attend.
Any producer, age 18 or older, who is a resident of the state and has
paid all assessments due may be considered as a delegate candidate
and/or participate in the election. All eligible producers are encouraged
to bring with them a sales receipt proving that hogs were sold in their
name and the checkoff deducted. For more information, contact
Washington State Pork Producers Association, 2001 VanTine Road,
Garfield, Washington. Telephone 509/397-2694.
26-2/#4
LEGAL
PORT OF GRANDVIEW REQUEST for PROPOSALS
The Port of Grandview invites proposals from persons or businesses
interested in starting a business in the Ports Business Incubator
Building located at 683 Wallace Way, Grandview, WA. The purpose
of this RFP is to determine interest in locating and starting new
businesses in the building. The type of business proposals selected
will determine the interior construction required, rental rates and
occupancy dates.
All proposals shall include:
• The type of business (manufacturing, wholesale or retail)
• The area required (sq. footage)
• Volumes of water and sewer necessary.
• Natural gas and power requirements
• Product(s) to be manufactured or created
• Specific building requirements
• Anticipated number of employees
• Names and contact information of principals
• Personal or business references.
Persons interested in viewing the building or having questions
should contact: Jessica Hansen, Executive Director, Port of
Grandview, 509-882-9975 or jessica@portofgrandview.org. Proposals
in sealed envelopes marked “Incubator Proposal” should be
postmarked not later than Tuesday, July 28, 2015 and addressed to:
Port of Grandview, PO Box 392, Grandview, WA 98930 Legal-25-4-2/#4
LEGAL
ONE LOW PRICE. UNLIMITED LISTINGS.
WEEKLY ONLINE NEWSLETTER.
1-800 UPLOAD SUPPORT.
JOIN FARMSELLER TODAY
CALL 1-800-882-6789
FOR DETAILS!
26-1/#13
low-income neighborhoods in
outer Southeast Portland. Crops
grown on the property go to the
market, to a Community Sup-
ported Agriculture (CSA) pro-
gram, and to restaurants.
The farm trains a handful of
interns each year, people who
want to be farmers but don’t
know how to go about it. Chil-
dren attending camps get to pet
chickens, plant, care, harvest
and prepare vegetables and en-
joy fruit trees and berry bushes.
The farm has a relationship
with the David Douglas School
District, and fifth graders visit
several times a year as part of
their science curriculum. A wet-
lands on the property provides
additional learning experiences.
Donations for the Urban
Grange construction came from
some of the Portland area’s best
known organizations.
OREGON SHEEP COMMISSION
Notice of Public Budget Hearing
The annual Budget Hearing and Regular Meeting of the Oregon
Sheep Commission will be held Monday, July 13, 2015,
beginning at 1:30 PM in Conference Room C of the Oregon
Department of Agriculture, 635 Capitol Street NE, Salem,
Oregon.
At this hearing any interested sheep producer has a right to be
heard with respect to the proposed budget, a copy of which is
available for public inspection, under reasonable circumstances,
in each of the Oregon State University Extension Services offices.
Copies of the proposed budget and tentative agenda are also
available for public inspection in the Commission office located
at 1270 Chemeketa Street NE, Salem, OR and may be requested
by calling (503) 364-5462 or sending a message to:
info@sheeporegon.com.
The Oregon Sheep Commission complies with the American
with Disabilities Act. If you need special accommodations to
participate in this meeting, please contact the Commission
office 48 hours in advance.
26-2/#4
customers overseas, Rowe said.
Washington’s crop is a mixed
bag, even within regions, Yates
said. Grower reports show the
crop can be good in some areas
and in worse shape 10 to 15 miles
away.
“That’s the advantage Eastern
Washington has over other parts
of the nation,” Yates said. “With
our multi-climatic zones, when
one area is hit, another area com-
pensates for it.”
The picture’s a little rosier
in Southern and Eastern Idaho,
where farmers received double
the usual average rainfall, Jacob-
son said.
“This year we have dry-farm
wheat so far in Eastern Idaho that
is looking like it is grown under
irrigation,” he said. “We will
need a little more to fill spring
wheat out completely. It’s look-
ing terrific at this point. We need
one more good shower at the
right time, but it will be a terrific
year if all those plans come to-
gether.”
Rain would definitely help
Green’s spring and winter wheat
in Fairfield.
“If we get the right weath-
er, we could get 80 or 90 bush-
el per acre spring wheat,” he
said. “If we don’t get the rain,
you’re looking at 40 or 50 bushel
wheat.”
Infected
psyllid
found in
Twin Falls
spud field
MOSCOW, Idaho — An-
other potato psyllid infected
with the Liberibacter bacte-
rium that causes zebra chip
disease has been found in a
commercial potato field.
The latest positive psyllid
was collected from a Twin
Falls County potato field, ac-
cording to a University of Ida-
ho pest alert issued June 19.
Potato psyllids were also
found during the week in Pay-
ette, Canyon, Gooding and
Jerome counties.
A psyllid on a sticky trap
collected from an Ada Coun-
ty commercial potato field
during the last week of May
previously tested positive
for Liberibacter, marking the
earliest confirmation of an in-
fected psyllid in an Idaho field
since zebra chip disease was
first detected in the Pacific
Northwest in 2011.
Zebra chip causes bands in
tuber flesh that darken when
fried and reduces spud yields.