August 28, 2015 CapitalPress.com 3 Brief break in the heat forecasted Pack of gray El Nino casts long wolves observed shadow over 3-month outlook in N. California By DON JENKINS Capital Press The Northwest may have a brief break in its historically hot and dry summer before be- ginning what’s expected to be a drought-intensifying fall, the U.S. Climate Prediction Cen- ter reported Monday. Odds are Washington, Or- egon, Northern California and Western Idaho will have below normal temperatures through Sept. 7, according to the cen- ter, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- ministration. Also, Washington, Ida- ho’s panhandle and Oregon’s northern half are likely to have above average precipitation, possibly bringing relief to fire- fighters, fish and farmers. “It looks like we’re in for a spell of cooler and wetter Don Jenkins/Capital Press A low flow exposes rocks in the Newaukum River near Chehalis in southwest Washington on Aug. 20. The U.S. Climate Prediction Center forecasts that the odds favor cooler-than-normal tempera- tures and above-average precipitation in the Northwest through the first week of September, briefly reversing a months-long pattern of hot and dry weather. weather. I think that’s a pret- ty welcome turn of events,” Washington State Climatolo- gist Nick Bond said. “Let’s get it while we can.” The climate center on Tuesday rescinded a “hazard- ous weather” alert for expect- ed heavy rains Aug. 29-30 on the Olympic Peninsula and northwest Washington, two areas where irrigation districts have had to cut water use. Rain moving down from the Gulf Alaska is now expected to fall primarily in Canada. “We are super dry. It’s un- usual for us to have such a long streak without a good downpour,” said Don McMo- ran, director of the Washing- ton State Extension office in Skagit County. “Crop-wise, I think a majority of farmers would appreciate a good rain here.” The two-week forecast for Washington stands out like an oasis. The center’s three-month outlook calls for a strengthening El Nino to raise temperatures in the state through at least November. “It’s rare that we have an El Nino this strong at this time of year,” Bond said. The center predicts the El Nino will peak in late fall and slowly weaken through the winter and early spring. Even a diminished El Nino would warm the winter, but Bond said he expects more snow to accumulate in 2015-16 than during last winter, when snowpacks were at record lows. “Highly unusual things just don’t happen that often,” he said. “I still think it will be on the warm side, just not as warm.” Washington may see aver- age precipitation in Septem- ber, but the odds favor below average rain from September through November, according to the center. Oregon exports find expanding market in Asia By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Oregon’s agricultural ex- ports, already the third leading sector among the $21 billion worth of products leaving the state annually, appear poised for continued expansion. In particular, marketers and trade experts say Vietnam and the Philippines may approve imports of fresh blueberries, and fresh or processed pota- toes may find greater accep- tance in those countries, Japan, China, Taiwan and elsewhere. Bryan Ostlund of the Or- egon Blueberry Commission said fresh berry exports to Courtesy of Port of Portland South Korea, approved in 2011, reached 1.4 million Oregon ag and food products, such as this grain shipment, are the third leading sector among the pounds in 2014 and are on state’s $21 billion in annual exports. pace to top that in 2015. Korea had a strong retail system in Potato Commission. market for processed potatoes agricultural and food products place, which aided distribution In Vietnam, for example, and accepts fresh potatoes for third. after exports were approved, fresh potatoes are primar- chipping, but also could be Barry Horowitz, an interna- but Vietnam is developing the ily used in soups, but Or- good market for table stock tional trade consultant in Port- economic infrastructure and egon representatives have potatoes, he said. land, said Oregon food and middle class that could make it demonstrated western cook- Potato grower Jeff Urbach, crop commissions previous- a “really nice fit” for Oregon ing styles, which generated of Amstad Produce in Sher- ly operated on their own but products as well, Ostlund said. a “great deal of interest,” wood, Ore., said he’s visited now are beginning to cooper- “The economy, you can Brewer said. the Philippines twice and Viet- ate in presentations to foreign feel it, is just ready to explode The appearance of pota- nam five or six times. He sells buyers. Thinking of Oregon’s in a positive way,” he said. toes from Oregon, Washing- to both, and said exports have high-quality food products as a “The buying power is rapidly ton and Idaho is totally dif- grown from 7 percent of his series of meals, complete with coming to the table.” ferent than potatoes, usually business four years ago to 35 Oregon beer and wine, sharp- Pests and diseases that may from China, that Vietnamese percent now. ens the focus, he said. arrive with imports are always consumers are accustomed “The potential there is “That is a package that is a concern to be worked out, he to, he said. Restaurants and huge, they want our products,” unbeatable in the international said, as are food safety proto- hotels that cater to western Urbach said. marketplace,” he said. cols. tourists are good markets for Because Oregon “faces” Expanded trade with Viet- “The Vietnamese and Phil- Northwest potatoes, as are Asia, as exporters like to say, nam is an example of the ex- ippine governments are very supermarkets whose custom- Asian trade is a natural, ex- port potential that could bene- keen on broadening the scope ers include people who have perts say. About 80 percent fit the state, he said. of what comes in from the lived in or visited the U.S. of what Oregon exports goes “You have a country with U.S.,” he said. “The growth “Whenever they’re ex- to 21 Pacific Rim nations, a almost 100 million people and potential seems huge to me.” posed to our potatoes, they like category that includes the five a literacy rate over 95 per- Processed and frozen prod- them,” Brewer said. largest markets: Canada, Chi- cent,” Horowitz said. “West- ucts such as french fries are Asia’s two biggest econo- na, Japan, Korea and Malay- ern countries can’t get in there popular in Asian countries, as mies hold continued econom- sia. Those five alone receive fast enough.” are “chipping” potatoes used ic promise for Oregon. China 60 percent of what Oregon ex- for snacks, but grower groups now accepts only processed ports, according state econom- are trying to expand the trade potato products and could be a ic analyst Josh Lehner. to include more fresh “ta- great market for chipping and Oregon’s largest export ble stock” potatoes, said Bill table stock potatoes, Brewer sector is electronics, followed Brewer, director of the Oregon said. Japan is the number one by heavy manufacturing, with By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press YREKA, Calif. — State wildlife officials have gained photographic evidence that five gray wolf pups and two adults have ventured into Siskiyou County in Northern California. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife installed ad- ditional cameras in the woods after spotting a lone wolf in the county in May and July and have obtained photos of what appear to be a family of wolves, officials announced Aug. 20. The agency has designated the group the Shasta Pack. “This news is exciting for California,” CDFW director Charlton Bonham said in a statement. “We knew wolves would eventually return home to the state and it appears now is the time.” The prospect of wolves re-entering California has excited environmentalists and worried ranchers since late 2011, when the lone gray wolf OR-7 wandered into California. OR-7 hasn’t been in California for more than a year and is now the breeding male in the Rogue Pack in Southern Oregon, CDFW of- ficials said. The arrival of OR-7 marked the first time since 1924 that a gray wolf had been confirmed in California. The wolves’ presence here Courtesy Calif. Dept. of Fish and Wildlife A gray wolf roams in southeast- ern Siskiyou County in Northern California. State officials have photographed five gray wolf pups and two adults in the area and dubbed it the Shasta Pack. unnerves ranchers and the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, which passed a resolution in 2001 opposing the reintroduction of wolves and grizzly bears into the wild. Despite protests from ranchers around the state, California’s Fish and Game Commission voted 3-1 last summer to list the species as endangered in the state. Fish and Wildlife has held numerous meetings with farm groups, including the California Farm Bureau Fed- eration and California Cat- tlemen’s Association, as well as other affected groups as it has worked on a draft wolf management plan. Officials say the plan will be completed soon. Hazelnut harvest expected to increase over 2014 By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Oregon’s hazelnut crop is projected to hit 39,000 tons this fall, an 8 percent increase over 2014, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in Portland. The crop won’t be a record — the state produced 47,000 tons in 2009 and 45,000 tons in 2013 — but Oregon accounts for 99 percent of U.S. pro- duction and continues to add orchard acreage at a pace of 3,000 to 5,000 acres per year. The state has an estimated 40,000 acres of hazelnuts. Whether the price for this year’s crop will approach the record set in 2014 is an open question. Last year, frost se- verely damaged the crop in Turkey, the world’s leading producer. Candy, nut spread and snack companies quickly sought other sources, and the price for Oregon nuts soared over $1.70 a pound as a result. At one point last fall, an Ore- gon grower estimated every nut on his trees was worth 1.3 cents. Michael Klein, executive of Oregon Hazelnuts, an industry group, said Turkey’s crop this year appears to be average. Frost hit again, but not as bad- ly as in 2014, he said. Like many other crops this year, hazelnut harvest will like- ly happen two or three weeks earlier than normal, Klein said. According to the NASS harvest projection, 87.2 per- cent of the Oregon nuts tested as “good” and the average dry weight was 3.17 grams, down from 3.23 grams recorded in 2014. About 43 percent of nuts tested by NASS were catego- rized as “large” and 36 percent as “jumbo.” Hazelnuts are Oregon’s ninth leading crop, with a 2013 value of $120 million, accord- ing to NASS. Bag needs? Bag solutions! SMITH PACKAGING YOUR MAIN SUPPLIER FOR: • Polyethylene Bags • Polypropylene Bags • Paper Bags • Bulk Bags • Stretch Films • Hay Sleeves • Mesh Produce Bags • Plastic Pallet Covers • Bag Closure Products • General Warehouse Supplies Competitive pricing! Great quality products! Service you expect and trust! Our new Massey Ferguson® 4600 Series mid range tractor combines muscle and maneuverability for loader work. Its power shuttle transmission lets you go forward to reverse and back without clutching. Just another example of how were using global innovation to help you farm your world. 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