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CapitalPress.com
August 21, 2015
More Oregon watersheds
receive added oversight
Strategic
implementation area
program rolled out in
seven counties
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Oregon’s farm regulators
will be paying closer attention
to water quality problems in
seven new watersheds under
an expansion of their “strate-
gic implementation area” pro-
gram.
Traditionally, the Oregon
Department of Agriculture’s
water quality investigations
were driven by complaints, but
the agency worried that this
approach didn’t consistently
uncover problems.
The agency has more re-
cently been self-initiating its
water quality compliance ef-
forts in “strategic implementa-
tion areas,” with waterways in
Wasco and Clackamas coun-
ties serving as early test cases.
Relying on aerial photo-
graphs and other information,
regulators identify problems
— such as streams denuded
of vegetation or impacted by
manure runoff — and notify
the landowners, who are en-
couraged to seek help from
their local soil and water con-
servation district.
“There is a regulatory
backstop, but in our experi-
ence, we don’t typically need
to go to that,” said John Byers,
manager of ODA’s agricultur-
al water quality program.
The program is now being
rolled out in additional water-
sheds:
• Three Mile Creek in Was-
co County.
• Upper Johnson Creek in
Multnomah County.
• Indian Ford Creek in De-
schutes County.
• Wagner Creek in Jackson
County.
• Lundren Creek, Calvin
Creek and Fishhawk Creek in
Columbia County.
• Lower Salt Creek in Polk
County
• Portions of the North
Lower Yamhill River in Yam-
hill County.
Regulators don’t have the
resources to increase scrutiny
of all Oregon watersheds, so
the program is focusing on
particular streams and rivers
for several reasons.
In some cases, the water-
ways were chosen because of
the need to improve fish hab-
itat, while others were includ-
ed at the request of the local
soil and water conservation
district.
Another six or seven wa-
tersheds are expected to in-
cluded in the program next
year, Byers said.
State lawmakers bolstered
the capacity of local districts
to assist landowners with $1
million allocated for water-
shed enhancement, he said.
“They are the technical
assistance on the ground, if
needed,” said Byers.
Cherry season started
early – and ends early
By DAN WHEAT
Capital Press
YAKIMA, Wash. — The
2015 Pacific Northwest sweet
cherry harvest is now in the
record books at 20.5 million,
20-pound boxes, making it the
third largest crop in history.
Final shipments were Aug.
7 from Stemilt Growers LLC,
Wenatchee, out of Kyle Mathi-
son’s Amigos Orchard at the
3,000-foot-level of Stemilt Hill
south of town and from a sim-
ilar elevation on Mt. Hood by
the Hood River Cherry Compa-
ny, Hood River, Ore.
It was the earliest end of the
season in history just as it was
the earliest start on May 24,
said B.J. Thurlby, president of
Northwest Cherry Growers, the
industry’s promotional arm in
Yakima.
The season will be not so
fondly remembered as the year
extreme heat disrupted what
started as a very promising
crop.
Even with the heat, “this
will go down as probably the
best June we’ve ever had in
volume, movement and pric-
ing,” Thurlby said.
A record 12.6 million boxes
were shipped in June, but grow-
ers and packers contended with
two heat waves. The first start-
ed about June 10 and lasted 10
days, accelerating harvest and
shipments and leading to a re-
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Alicia Garcia Espinoza, left, works in pre-sort on Chelan Fruit Cooper-
ative’s new red cherry packing line at its Beebe plant on June 18. The
2015 PNW crop wrapped up Aug. 7 as the third largest in history.
cord 14 million boxes shipped
before the Fourth of July. Pric-
es and demand stayed strong
through the Fourth, Thurlby
said.
There were a few days of
relative cooling but a second
wave of 100-plus degree days
began June 26, compressing
harvest and glutting the mar-
ket right after the Fourth when
there’s usually a lull.
“Overall it was a pretty good
year except for that 10-day pe-
riod right after the Fourth when
we had a lot of fruit. An ava-
lanche of cherries. Compres-
sion not expected to be there,”
Thurlby said.
For the first time, Bing,
Rainier, Lapin, Skeena, Regina
and Sweetheart all at the same
elevations were harvested all at
the same time, he said.
About 1.2 million boxes of
cherries above estimate were
shipped in that window and not
everything got shipped, he said.
Loss of cherry packing lines
at Blue Bird Inc. and Stemilt
Growers in Wenatchee from
the June 28 Sleepy Hollow Fire
didn’t help.
Promotions didn’t match the
crop and buyers were not pre-
pared for early fruit, Bud Riker,
a Wenatchee Heights grower
has said. The late June, early
July heat damaged quality and
resulted in so many cherries
that prices fell by two-thirds
and no one could make money,
Riker said.
Marketers couldn’t sell fruit
and the only option was proces-
sors for juicing, he said.
Exports of 2.5 million box-
es to China and South Korea
helped and the market and pric-
es rebounded the last part of
July, Thurlby said.
The Washington State Tree
Fruit Association doesn’t dis-
close prices but the season aver-
age wholesale price was $22.50
per box in the record volume
year of 2014, according to the
National Agricultural Statistics
Service. That was well below
the prior five years. The aver-
age was $43.50 in 2011.
The industry shipped a re-
cord 400,000 boxes in May, a
record 12.6 million in June, 7.4
million in July and 70,000 in
August, he said. July accounted
for 37 percent of the crop in-
stead of its normal 60 percent.
August was 700,000 last year
and peaked at 5.1 million in
2011.
There were 77 shipping
days in 2015 compared with
84 in 2014, 81 in 2013 and 92
in 2012. Around 90 is what the
industry likes. Daily shipments
peaked at 594,744 boxes on
June 25. Shipments exceeded
500,000 per day for 11 days,
June 15 to 26, compared to 30
days in 2014.
Heat, rain, hail and drought
reduced the crop about 20 per-
cent which is normal, Thurlby
said. The final tally of 20.52
million boxes shipped was
virtually dead on his May 28
estimate of 20.53 million.
Investment firm plans to spend Feared Asian gypsy moths
$300 million on farmland
reappear in Washington
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A new real estate invest-
ment trust is looking to spend
$300 million on farm proper-
ties in the Northwest and the
South.
After recently securing
$300 million from two pension
funds, the U.S. Farm Trust
plans to focus on buying prop-
erties in Eastern Oregon, East-
ern Washington and Southern
Idaho, as well as the Missis-
sippi Delta region.
The firm plans to lease back
the land to farmers who grow
a variety of crops, which pro-
vides them with more financial
stability, said Tommy Funk,
the REIT’s president.
“There’s just a whole vari-
ety,” Funk said of the crop op-
tions in the Northwest and the
South. “It gives the farmer the
opportunity to plant to a high-
er-priced commodity.”
The recent downturn in
many crop prices isn’t dis-
couraging news for U.S. Farm
Trust, as the real estate market
won’t be as competitive as it
was a few years ago, he said.
Land that may have been
overpriced during the surge in
commodity prices is now more
likely to sell for a reasonable
sum, Funk said.
“It’s a wonderful opportu-
nity to be launching this REIT
now,” he said.
U.S. Farm Trust is one of
several REITs to begin oper-
ating in agriculture recently,
with the corporate structure
allowing them to avoid federal
corporate taxes as long as they
LEGAL
Applications sought for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute
(OFRI) Board of Directors.
Pursuant to OAR 629-065-0400, the purpose of this notice is to
solicit applications for the Oregon Forest Resources Institute
(OFRI) Board of Directors. The State Forester is responsible to
annually solicit applications by publication in a newspaper of
general statewide circulation. Applicants meeting all the
qualifications will be maintained on a list to be used by the State
Forester for filling existing vacancies and to fill vacancies caused
by expiration of an existing member’s term. Each applicant must
certify in the application that he/she meets the qualifications for
the position. Each “producer” applicant for the board of
directors shall have the following qualifications: 1) be a citizen
of the United States; 2) be a bona fide resident of this state; 3)
be a “producer” in this state, an employee of such a producer or
own between 100 and 2,000 acres of forestland in this state on
which harvest taxes are paid, but have no direct financial
interest in any forest products processing activity; 4) have been
actively engaged in producing forest products for a period of at
least five years; 5) derive a substantial portion of income from
the production of forest products (“substantial portion of
income” means that 50 percent or more of the gross income of a
member of the board of directors is derived from timber or
timber products ownership or affiliation); 6) have demonstrated,
through membership in producers’ organizations or
organizations representing landowners who meet the
requirements of ORS 526.610(4), a profound interest in the
development of Oregon’s forest products industry; 7) is available
to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the OFRI Board of
Directors; and 8) meets the producer class eligibility
requirements for the position to which nominated. Each
“employee” applicant shall be: 1) a citizen of the United States;
2) a bona fide resident of this state; and 3) an hourly wage
employee of a producer or a person who represents such
employees.
The “producer” class eligibility requirements are:
Class 1 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on 20
million board feet or less per year in the most recent year
preceding the appointment.
Class 2 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on
more than 20 million board feet but less than 100 million board
feet per year in the most recent year preceding the
appointment.
Class 3 Producers having paid forest products harvest tax on 100
million board feet or more per year in the most recent year
preceding the appointment.
Small Woodland Owner An owner of between 100 and 2,000
acres of forestland in this state on which harvest taxes were paid
in at least one of the five years preceding the appointment, and
who has no direct financial interest in any forest products
processing activity.
Persons wanting to apply for the OFRI Board of Directors must
request application materials from Kathy Storm at OFRI,
storm@ofri.org or 971-673-2953. Send completed application
packets to the State Forester: Attention Tony Andersen, 2600
State Street, Salem, Oregon 97310, or via email at
tony.andersen@oregon.gov. Return the completed materials to
the State Forester postmarked by September 18, 2015.
34-2/#4
pass most of the profits on to
shareholders.
Farm properties are consid-
ered “non-traditional” invest-
ments for REITs, which usu-
ally focus on office buildings,
apartment buildings and malls.
However, REITs have tak-
en an interest in agriculture as
a way to increase investment
portfolio diversity, said Funk.
“It’s a great value for the insti-
tutional investor to partake in
this class of assets.”
Funk said his company also
sees itself as “farmer-centric,”
since the possibility of sell-
ing and leasing back land can
provide older growers with
financial alternatives if their
children don’t expect to work
in agriculture.
REITs can also help young-
er farmers by giving them the
option of leasing land rather
than taking on major debt to
buy it, he said.
U.S. Farm Trust is expect-
ing to purchase land aggres-
sively, with plans to spend the
entire $300 million within 36
months, Funk said.
Increasing ownership of
farmland by REITs and insti-
tutional investors is a “natural
progression” as agriculture
grows more sophisticated fi-
nancially, said Bruce Sherrick,
an economist who studies
farmland at the University of
Illinois.
However, it’s unlikely
that massive tracts of U.S.
farmland will soon be con-
verted to REIT ownership
because the properties be-
long to a multitude of fam-
ilies, he said. In contrast,
the nation’s forest lands
— which are often owned
by REITs — had fewer and
larger owners.
Worse than their
European cousins,
these moths cover
more ground
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — Eight Asian
gypsy moths, seen as poten-
tially more destructive to for-
ests and orchards than their
European cousins, have been
trapped in Western Washing-
ton this summer.
It’s the first time the insect
has been detected in the state
since 1999, according to the
state Department of Agricul-
ture.
Asian moths have been
caught in WSDA traps in
Pierce, King, Thurston and
Clark counties. In addition,
with more than a month left
in the trapping season, WSDA
has trapped 30 European gyp-
sy moths, including 24 in Se-
attle.
Asian gypsy moths have
been found at the Port of Ta-
coma, Gig Harbor and near
Fife in Pierce County. Two
were trapped in Kent in King
County, while single moths in
Nisqually in Thurston County
and Vancouver in Clark Coun-
ty were found, according to
WSDA.
In addition to the moths in
Seattle, four European moths
were trapped on Steamboat
Island in Thurston County,
one at Fort Warden in Jeffer-
son County and one in Port
Orchard in Kitsap County.
During all of last year,
WSDA reported snaring 27
gypsy moths, all European
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
A gypsy moth trap hanging from a tree at the Port of Kalama along
the Lower Columbia River in southwest Washington sways in the
wind Aug. 18. For the first time since 1977, the Washington State
Department of Agriculture has trapped Asian gypsy months, seen
as potentially more destructive than European gypsy moths.
and the most since 2006.
WSDA officials declined
to comment on how the Asian
gypsy months may have en-
tered the state. A WSDA
spokesman said any discus-
sion about how the agency
will respond will wait until
the trapping season ends in
late September.
WSDA has sprayed for
gypsy moths 93 times since
1979, including this year in
rural southwest Washington.
WSDA decided not to spray
in Seattle, where eight moths
were captured last summer.
Asian gypsy moths were
first detected in the United
States in 1991. In Washing-
ton that summer, nine Asian
moths were trapped, and
WSDA responded by aeri-
al spraying 116,500 acres in
Pierce and south King coun-
ties. The following summer,
WSDA set out about five
times as many traps an usual,
but didn’t find any Asian gyp-
sy moths.
WSDA trapped Asian
moths most years during the
1990s. Asian gypsy moths
have been detected about 20
LEGAL
34-2/#7
New REIT seeks
properties in the
Northwest, South
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING
The USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS)
announces a meeting of the
Washington State Technical
Advisory
Committee
on
September 22, 2015 from
9:30 am to 3:00 pm, 316 W.
Boone Ave., Suite 450,
Spokane, WA. Remote access
is also available.
For more information
contact Sherre Copeland,
(360) 704-7758. 34-2/#4
times throughout the U.S., in-
cluding single moths last year
in Oklahoma and South Car-
olina, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
Over the past 140 years,
European gypsy moths have
entrenched themselves in the
Northeast and Great Lakes
regions. The USDA estimates
they defoliate 700,000 acres
in the U.S. each year.
Asian gypsy moths have
the potential to spread more
rapidly and cause more de-
struction, according to a re-
cent USDA fact sheet.
Female Asian gypsy moths
can fly, while female Europe-
an gypsy moths are flightless.
Also, Asian gypsy months eat
the leaves of about 500 tree
and shrub species, twice as
many as European moths.
Ships coming from coun-
tries such as Russia, Japan
and China are seen as likely
ways Asian gypsy moth egg
masses reach the U.S.
A U.S. Customs and Bor-
der Protection spokeswoman
said Tuesday that the agency
has found Asian gypsy moth
egg masses this year in Ore-
gon on vessels that came from
Japan and Russia, but none in
Washington.
WSDA has limited its
search for gypsy moths this
summer to Western Washing-
ton, setting out 16,000 traps.
The agency said it wanted to
concentrate traps near ports
and where new residents are
more likely to unwittingly
transport egg masses on their
belongings, such as outdoor
furniture.