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CapitalPress.com
July 24, 2015
OSU to recruit slug researcher, other experts
Additional state
funds will pay
for several new
positions
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Farmers in Oregon will
soon get some much-need-
ed assistance with battling
the slugs that are devouring
their crops.
Oregon State University
plans to recruit an entomol-
ogist who specializes in slug
research as part of a broader
hiring spree made possible
with added money from state
lawmakers.
Earlier this year, the uni-
versity held a “Slug Sum-
mit” with farmers who com-
plained that the pests have
grown more problematic in
recent years.
Theories abound as to
why slugs are more preva-
lent — increased restrictions
on field burning and reduced
tillage were among the rea-
sons proposed — but con-
crete proof is scant.
Methods of controlling
the mollusks, such as bait
containing the pesticide
metaldehyde, aren’t reliably
effective, growers reported.
Courtesy of Robin Rosetta, OSU
European red slugs are quite common in gardens and landscapes.
Oregon State University is hiring an entomologist who will focus on
slug control.
The new research posi-
tion will focus on the best
ways to kill slugs or other-
wise disrupt their life cycle,
said Dan Arp, dean of OSU’s
College of Agricultural Sci-
ences.
The Oregon legislature
Two farms accuse
ConAgra of
contract breach
Cases center on
potato-buying
contracts by
subsidiary
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Two potato farms in
Washington are accusing
a subsidiary of ConAgra
Foods
of
violating
crop-buying contracts.
In one case, Charles
Wood of Franklin County,
Wash., alleges that rep-
resentatives of the Lamb
Weston subsidiary agreed
to buy 12,355 tons of pota-
toes at $150 per ton, but the
company later reneged on
the deal by seeking a lower
price.
Wood is seeking $1.85
million that he claims to be
entitled to under the origi-
nal contract.
Attorneys for ConAgra
have filed a motion to dis-
miss the complaint, arguing
that Wood does not have
written proof of a contract
and merely alleges a “hand-
shake” agreement on tenta-
tive terms.
In the second case, Zu-
riel Inc. claims that its po-
tatoes were subject to re-
jection by ConAgra due to
bruising, but the processing
company refused to release
them for sale on the open
market.
Instead of allowing Zu-
riel Inc. to take possession
of the crop, ConAgra pro-
cessed the potatoes and
paid a reduced price, which
is a contract breach, ac-
cording to the complaint.
Zuriel seeks unspecified
damages to be determined
at trial.
ConAgra is planning to
soon file a motion to dis-
miss Zuriel’s complaint as
well, said Gerald Kobluk,
attorney for the company.
The company doesn’t
believe there is any merit
to either case, he said.
recently approved $14 mil-
lion in additional funding
for OSU’s agricultural ex-
periment stations, extension
service and forest laboratory
over the next two years.
Agricultural experiment
stations will receive more
than $6 million of that
amount, which will fund 16
new assistant professor po-
sitions and six support posi-
tions, said Arp.
OSU will begin trying to
fill the positions as soon as
possible, but the recruiting
process usually takes about
eight months, he said.
“We’re really grateful to
the legislature for making
this possible,” Arp said.
Following is a summary
of the other research posi-
tions that OSU’s agricultural
experiment stations will be
looking to fill:
• Rangeland ecology with
a focus on conserving the
sage grouse, a bird species
that’s a candidate for federal
protection. Ranchers fear that
threatened or endangered sta-
tus for the species could re-
sult in grazing restrictions.
• Integrated management
of cropping systems, focus-
ing on managing nutrients,
water and pests for crops
with intensive rotations.
• Weed and pest manage-
ment primarily for horticul-
tural crops like vegetables
and berries.
• Water management and
efficient use, such as exam-
ining innovative tools for
irrigation.
• Fertilizer rate and trans-
port, which involves the
study of how much fertiliz-
er is consumed by crops and
where surpluses end up.
• Near-shore fishery and
oceanography, looking at
sustainable practices.
• Food processing and
safety, researching new
technology and food safety
concepts such as improving
shelf life.
• Food microbiology,
studying ways to prevent con-
tamination with pathogens.
• Pesticide management,
including the best manage-
ment of rates and timing.
• Integrated pest man-
agement response to climate
and weather, with a focus on
modeling how changes will
affect pest control.
• Consumer demands and
marketing, which involves
the study of how people
make buying decisions and
how to influence them. The
main focus will be on prod-
ucts of fermentation like al-
cohol and cheese.
• Brewing microbiology,
which will examine how to
use microbiology to improve
flavor.
• Quantitative plant ge-
netics, which requires the
use of modern molecular
tools to improve breeding.
• Vegetable and specialty
seed breeding and manage-
ment.
• Seafood processing and
innovation, which will in-
clude new methods and safe-
ty components.
• Two pollinator biology
technicians, one focused on
lab work and the other on
field work.
• An experiential learning
coordinator who lines up in-
ternships for students.
• Supplemental funding
for three positions in fer-
mentation science.
OSU’s Forest Research
Laboratory will receive $3.5
million of the additional fund-
ing, which will be spent on a
two-year study of the marbled
murrelet, a threatened bird
species that nests in coastal
forests.
The birds will be banded
with radio transmitters so re-
searchers can find out more
about where they travel and
how far inland they lay eggs.
“We really don’t under-
stand much about their be-
havior. They spend most of
their lives out at sea,” said
Thomas Maness, the labora-
tory’s director.
OSU’s extension service
will receive nearly $4.5 mil-
lion of the added funding
but is still in the process of
prioritizing which positions
will be filled, said Scott
Reed, the service’s director
at the university.
New group will represent Treasure Valley water users
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Several irri-
gation districts and canal
companies have formed a
Treasure Valley Water Users
Association that will repre-
sent farmers and other water
users in Southwestern Idaho.
“Until now, there’s been
no association or group com-
prised of one voice to pro-
tect our water rights ... in the
Treasure Valley,” said dairy
producer Lou Murgoitio, a
member of the group’s board
of directors. “This is monu-
mental. Water is everything to
us out here.”
Pioneer Irrigation District
Manager Mark Zirschky said
the formation of a group that
goes to bat specifically for
Treasure Valley water users is
long overdue.
“It’s something that should
have happened a long time
ago but we’re sure welcoming
it now,” he said.
The group represents wa-
ter users in Water District
63, which encompasses an
area from Boise to Parma. It
formed in June and its mem-
bership already includes five
major irrigation districts and
two canal companies.
Its eight-member board is
comprised of seven people
representing irrigation or ca-
nal companies and Murgoitio
is the at-large member.
Agricultural groups, in-
cluding the Idaho-Eastern
Oregon Seed Association, and
individual farmers and ranch-
ers have also joined the group
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
A potato field is irrigated in Meridian, Idaho, June 25. The newly formed Treasure Valley Water Users
Association will represent water users in Southwestern Idaho.
as non-voting members, said
TVWUA Executive Director
Roger Batt.
The response from munic-
ipalities and elected officials
has been positive, Batt said.
“They say this is some-
thing that will unify the water
user community in the Trea-
sure Valley and that’s exact-
ly what we intend to do,” he
said.
Batt said the group expects
its membership to include wa-
ter delivery entities that repre-
sent a total of 350,000 irrigat-
ed acres by the end of 2015.
The group has filed ar-
ticles of incorporation with
the Idaho Secretary of State
and its board recently ap-
proved by-laws.
“This organization is
alive and going,” Batt said.
“We keep getting more peo-
ple (join) as we continue to
spread the message.”
Several TVWUA mem-
bers said the impetus for the
group’s formation was the
state’s plan to start counting
water released for flood con-
trol on the Boise River system
against stored water rights.
“(This) issue is really what
brought this organization to-
gether,” Batt said. “There’s
been no other issue we can
think of that has unified the
irrigation delivery folks in ba-
sin 63 as much as (this) issue
has.”
One of the group’s oth-
er priorities will be learning
more about a Boise River En-
hancement Plan advocated by
environmental groups.
TVWUA officials have
invited members of those
groups to discuss the plan
with them Aug. 10.
The plan’s summary sug-
gests farmers in the basin use
only drip or sprinkler irriga-
tion but that’s not possible for
the region’s $500 million seed
industry, which depends on
furrow irrigation to address
certain disease and insect is-
sues, Batt said.
“We want to learn more
about what they’re trying to
do,” he said.
Canadian official warns of possible retaliation for COOL
By TIM HEARDEN
30-1/#4
Capital Press
PIONEER POWER
SHOW & SWAP MEET
Hosted by: CENTRAL WASHINGTON
ANTIQUE FARM EQUIPMENT CLUB
August 15 th -16 th , 2015
Fullbright Park • Union Gap, Washington
EVENTS HAPPENING both
SATURDAY & SUNDAY!
8:00am-4:00pm • FAMILY FUN!!!
(509) 942-2100
• Farm Equipment Displays
Vintage Trucks & Engines
• Farm Tractor Pulls
• Lawn Tractor Pulls
had a real, real
impact on our in-
dustries in Cana-
da and has been
very harmful to
U.S. industry as
well.”
The Repub-
Doyle
lican-led U.S.
House of Representatives voted,
300-131, last month to repeal
the label requirements after the
World Trade Organization ruled
for a fourth time this spring that
the labels put Canadian and
Mexican livestock at a disad-
vantage. The U.S. has exhausted
all of its appeals before the WTO
in defense of the rule, which re-
quires meat labels to show where
the animals were born, raised and
slaughtered.
(tractor provided for kids
- safe & fun)
• Wheat Threshing & Binding
• Petting Zoo
• Kid’s Crafts & Games
• Kid’s Treasure Hunt - Prizes!
ADMISSIO
$5.00 per p N
erson.
Children
un
admitted FR der age 12
EE with Pare
nt.
30-1/#6
34TH ANNUAL
SAN FRANCISCO — A
Canadian trade official based in
California says she’s encouraged
by efforts in Congress to repeal
a 2008 meat-labeling rule that’s
been the object of a six-year
dispute between the U.S. and its
two biggest trade partners.
Cassie Doyle, the Canadian
consul general in San Francisco,
said she understands retaliatory
tariffs imposed by Canada and
Mexico could be devastating
for major Western commodities
such as California’s $24 billion
wine industry.
“Our role has been raising
awareness on the lack of fairness
in” mandatory country-of-origin
labeling, Doyle told the Capital
Press. “We’ve been trying to get
a fix for COOL. I’ve been reach-
ing out to members of Congress
from California and some of
the legislators in Sacramento
because retaliation will have a
disproportionate impact on Cal-
ifornia being that they’re such
big … exporters of agricultural
goods into Canada.
“The bottom line is Canada
does not want to retaliate, but we
need to fix this discriminatory
labeling scheme,” she said. “It’s
30-4/#6
Canada and Mexico are now
quantifying their level of harm
from the rule and awaiting the
WTO’s go-ahead to begin sanc-
tions, which Doyle said could be
put in place this fall.
The lopsided House vote
and looming sanctions put pres-
sure on the Senate, where Sen.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has
called for legislation to address
the issue.
“California in particular
would feel the brunt of (retal-
iation), as tariffs against wine,
cheese, beef, apples, tomatoes,
chocolate and other products
could cripple many companies,”
Feinstein said in a statement.
“Consumers deserve to know
where the food they buy comes
from, but we need to make sure
it’s done in a way that doesn’t de-
stabilize California exports.”
Canada has threatened to im-
pose retaliatory tariffs on more
than three dozen American com-
modities, including beef, pork,
rice, corn, apples, cherries and
wine. The Canadian government
has complained that the labeling
regulation has cost cattle produc-
ers and related industries north of
the border as much as $1 billion
a year, though proponents of the
rule dispute that figure.