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September 11, 2015 CapitalPress.com 13 Calif. olive growers fret as production costs rise By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press ORLAND, Calif. — Table olive growers in California expect a big rebound in yields this fall and prices to farm- ers have never been better, but producers are still having trouble making ends meet. That’s because production costs such as labor and water prices have escalated while the roughly $1,000 per ton average that growers have been paid for olives has remained stagnant over the past several years, said Adin Hester, president of the Visalia-based Olive Growers Council of California. “We’ve seen some of the best averages (for growers) that we’ve had within the last decade or two, but we’re stuck there,” said Hester, noting that growers are in the midst of bargaining with processors for prices for this year’s crop. This year’s table olive crop statewide is expected to come in at 60,000 tons, about 52,000 tons of which are the Manzanillo variety, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Such a crop would be 62 percent larger than last year’s crop of 37,120 tons as freezes and a lack Growers have received an average of $4,000 an acre for table olives, and direct production costs run about $2,000 an acre. Then labor costs are another $1,600 or so an acre of water diminished yields, NASS reported. In Northern California, yields appear to be mixed, said Dani Lightle, a University of California Cooperative Exten- sion crop advisor in Orland. “The Manzanillo crop up here in general did pretty well, but I’ve heard the Sevillano crop is not so hot,” Lightle said. Statewide, the Sevillano production is forecast at 7,000 tons, according to NASS. The harvest is set to be- gin in late September, Lightle said. Olive trees are alter- nate-bearing, but yields have fluctuated wildly in the last decade, peaking at a record 170,000 tons in 2010 but coming in below 40,000 tons four times since 2006, accord- ing to NASS. Growers have received an average of $4,000 an acre for table olives, and direct production costs run about $2,000 an acre, he said. Then labor costs are another $1,600 or so an acre, he said. “Then how do you do debt service, overhead or return on equity?” he said. All the uncertainty sur- rounding table olives has prompted many growers to switch to more lucrative nuts or navel oranges, Hester said. NASS projects this year’s bearing acreage to be 18,000, down significantly from the peak of 38,000 acres about a decade ago. That, in turn, has led pro- cessors to turn to cheaper im- ported olives to keep up with demand, Hester said. “We’re concerned because we’re at a critical level acre- age-wise now,” he said. “There’s no way California can produce enough table olives now to sat- isfy two domestic processors (Bell Carter Olive and Musco Family Olive Co.), so they’re forced to go offshore.” Gilbert Orchard appeals Visiting bean industry leaders impressed with Idaho seed quality state pesticide fine By DAN WHEAT By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press Capital Press HOMEDALE, Idaho — A group of Mexican bean indus- try representatives who visited Idaho Sept. 2-5 said they were extremely impressed with the quality of Idaho dry bean seed. “The quality of seeds you’re producing here is very impressive,” said Benny Rem- pel, general manager of an ag- ricultural company in Chihua- hua state. Rempel said that during the visit he saw “a couple of varieties that we would like to try down there and see if they work for us.” Attendees who were part of the in-bound trade mission were taken on a tour of the Ida- ho State Department of Agri- culture’s pathology lab, where seeds are tested and certified as disease-free and visited bean field trials at University of Ida- ho’s Kimberly and Parma ex- periment stations. They also visited dry bean farms and Treasure Valley Seed Co.’s production facility in Homedale. “I have seen some very interesting things and ... new production systems. It’s differ- ent from what we have,” said Erasmo Robles, a seed dealer. Robles said it’s likely the visit would result in his cus- tomers purchasing Idaho bean seed “since the seed you pro- duce here is very good and seed of your quality is really the starting point for us to have really good bean production in Zacatecas.” Zacatecas is a state in central Mexico. “Definitely, yes,” said Abelardo Carrera when asked whether the visit would result in his customers buying Idaho seed. The in-bound trade mission Sean Ellis/Capital Press Representatives of Mexico’s dry bean industry inspect pinto beans at Treasure Valley Seed Co.’s production facility in Homedale, Idaho, on Sept. 4. Participants in the in-bound trade mission said they were impressed with the quality of Idaho bean seed. ‘These folks understand the huge potential here ... As they have to feed more mouths, they need more production and that takes better seed.’ — Don Tolmie Idaho Bean Commission, board member was hosted by the Idaho Bean Commission, which has con- ducted several field trials in Mexico over the past several years to try to show growers there the benefits of using cer- tified Idaho seed. Because of the positive re- sults of those trials, Mexican bean industry leaders wanted to see first-hand the quality control measures that are in place to ensure Idaho seed is disease-free, said Armando Orellana, director of Idaho’s trade office in Mexico. “The trials are starting to pay off,” said Orellana, who accompanied the visitors on the trade mission. “I’m very pleased to see how they are re- acting and to see the intentions they expressed to us. They have been able to see what they can achieve by buying seed from Idaho,” Dry beans are indigenous to the southern regions of Mexico and it’s a tall order to try to expand into those ar- eas, said IBC board member Don Tolmie. But because of the strong breeding and production sys- tems in place in Idaho, “our varieties are superior to their indigenous varieties and they are very impressed with what they see when they come up here as far as production,” he said. The strong U.S. dollar vs. the Mexican peso will make it tough to do a lot of busi- ness right now, Tolmie said, but visits like this will pay off over time because they’re seeing first-hand that some of the newer varieties used in Idaho are doubling or tripling yields. “These folks understand the huge potential here,” he said. “As they have to feed more mouths, they need more production and that takes bet- ter seed.” State report tracks economic, demographic change in rural Oregon as population grows By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press Online The “Timber Belt” run- ning from Northern California up through Oregon and into Washington sustained an eco- nomic collapse and population loss similar to the “Rust Belt” and “Corn Belt” of the Mid- west, but its recovery has been entirely different, according to the Oregon Office of Econom- ic Analysis. In a new report on demo- graphic and economic trends unfolding in rural Oregon, state analysts detail pockets of resurgence, surprisingly hope- ful statistics and unanswered questions of what comes next. “All along the Timber Belt, people keep moving in” at a pace just as strong as the mi- gration to urban centers such as Portland, state economists Mark McMullen and Joshua Lehner wrote. “In general, these incoming migrants are different than the households moving out,” the analysts wrote. “Much of the time they are older and relocate to rural Oregon as they retire or reduce their work hours.” The new residents of rural Oregon bring a “lifetime of experience” and wealth, “often in the form of California home equity,” McMullen and Lehner wrote. “Figuring out how best to exploit the Timber Belt’s strong influx of retirees should be a top priority given such in- See the Rural Oregon analysis at https : //oregoneconomicanaly- sis.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/rural-oregon-2015.pdf dividuals are voting with their feet, in essence, saying they want to live in the area and be a part of the community,” the analysts said. “Overall this is certainly a good thing.” Rural Oregon loses popu- lation during the “root setting” years of ages 25 to 34, when young adults are establishing careers, starting families and buying homes, the report said. Unlike most of rural America, however, Oregon is offsetting those losses with older mi- grants. But for the young adults who stay in rural Oregon, Mc- Mullen and Lehner said statis- tics show children raised in ru- ral Oregon, especially Eastern Oregon, have a good chance of succeeding in life. Harvard University’s Equal- ity of Opportunity Project found that a rural Oregon child born at the bottom income level had a strong probability of reaching the top level as an adult, the authors said. Among more than 700 communities nationwide, the Oregon towns of Burns, Condon, Enterprise, John Day and Lakeview were among the top third in fostering such success, according to Mc- Mullen and Lehner. Bruce Weber, director of the Rural Studies Program at Oregon State University, said the state analysis is “insight- ful.” If the “boom and bust” na- ture of rural economies “cre- ates an environment in which children grow up with differ- ent expectations and different levels of investment in educa- tion, these could also reduce upward mobility,” Weber said in an email. Meanwhile, economic re- covery in Oregon has pockets of success and stagnation. While Portland and its sub- urbs are popping again, most of rural Oregon has not recov- ered the jobs lost in the reces- sion, the authors said. An ex- ception is the Columbia River Gorge, which the analysts said has benefited from three major trends. First, agriculture remains strong, mainly fruit, and higher commodity prices helped local farmers. Second, wind farm construction provided invest- ment and jobs from 2007 to 2011, which included the depth of the recession. Last, the un- manned aerial vehicle industry — drones — has grown dra- matically over the past decade. Insitu, a major drone manufac- turer, is headquartered in Bin- gen, Wash., across the Colum- bia from Hood River. “A large portion of such jobs are on the Washington side of the Columbia River, however the economic and population base in the gorge is on the Oregon side, where much of the consumer spend- ing occurs,” McMullen and Lehner wrote. Although not cited by name in the state report, Hermiston, in Umatilla County, rode out the recession to become the biggest and fastest growing city in Eastern Oregon. In Hermiston’s case, a strong agricultural sector is a stabilizing base for the econ- omy, City Manager Byron Smith said. “However you want to phrase it, people still need to have food,” he said. “A lot of our economy is based on that, either the actual production or the processing of agricultural products.” Hermiston farmers grow potatoes, onions, melons and multiple types of other irri- gated vegetables. The area has several food processing plants, and attracted a DuPont Pioneer corn seed research station. Finally, the city diversified its economy through growth in the transportation and logistics sector. Wal-Mart has a distri- bution center in Hermiston, and FedEx and UPS also have facilities in the area. “That’s another piece of the economy that does well for us,” Smith said. YAKIMA, Wash. — Gilbert Orchards Inc. of Yakima have been fined $105,000 by the state Department of Labor & Industries for what the depart- ment says are 12 serious and re- peat-serious health violations. Gilbert Orchards cooperat- ed with L&I, feels the fine is “egregious” and is appealing it, said Sean Gilbert, the orchard owner’s son. A state inspection began in March after the department re- ceived information that employ- ees were hand-applying a pesti- cide used to kill gophers, called Fumitoxin, without the right respirators or training, the de- partment said in a news release. Fumitoxin is a restricted-use pesticide that contains alumi- num phosphide which reacts with water to release a high- ly-toxic phosphine gas that can be deadly, the department said. The inspection found work- ers applied toxic pellets by hand, sprinkling them in go- pher holes and adding water to activate the poison while wear- ing the wrong respiratory pro- tection, L&I said. Employers who use restrict- ed-use pesticides must ensure workers are trained to properly use respirators and must test for tight fit, L&I said. Employers must also post warning signs in treated areas, monitor the work being done and meet other re- quirements. “When L&I made us aware of the issue, we took very swift action in concert with L&I,” Gilbert said. It was a matter of not being aware of requirements regard- ing respirators and the compa- ny moved quickly to address that, he said. The fine relates to procedural matters and paper- work, he said. “We are very surprised L&I put out a press release on a case we feel is still in progress,” Gil- bert said. “We provided work- ers with the correct gloves. No one was sick or injured. “We want our workers to be the safest in the industry. We’ve had a long history of a safe working environment and still do. But L&I felt the need to apply fines that we feel are egregious in this case.” Mateusz Perkowski/Capital Press Ryan Seely wore a beard of succulents at the recent Farwest Show in Portland, Ore. More than 6,000 people attended the 2015 trade show. Farwest Show attendance climbs 10 percent this year By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The 10 percent boost in at- tendance at the Oregon nursery industry’s Farwest Show this year bodes well for ornamen- tal plant sales, according to the event’s organizer. More than 6,000 people attended the 2015 trade show, which seeks to connect whole- sale producers of nursery stock with retailers and other buyers. “I think it’s a further indi- cator the nursery industry is recovering,” said Jeff Stone, executive director of the Ore- gon Association of Nurseries, which organizes the annual event. Last year, Oregon nursery sales grew 11 percent to $830 million, according to the Ore- gon Department of Agriculture. Oregon’s favorable grow- ing conditions have allowed the nursery industry to capital- ize on increased demand, said Stone. Nursery producers in the state also didn’t cut back on production as much as growers elsewhere, putting them in a better position as the economy improved, he said. “Oregon product is moving. There are shortages in the mar- ketplace,” said Stone. Rising revenues are the result of larger consumption rather than increased prices, with demand growing due to the housing market’s recovery and greater yard investments by homeowners, he said. The market is even on the upswing for the beleaguered shade tree sector, which was particularly hard hit when res- idential construction plummet- ed, he said. The industry has general- ly become more flexible, with retailers repeatedly making orders throughout the year as their inventory decreases, rath- er than buying large amounts of stock at once, Stone said. Nursery producers also re-oriented to focus on new- ly-popular products, such as food-producing trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals, he said. “It’s about trying to antici- pate that demand,” he said. The Farwest Show remains an important financial compo- nent of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, which derives roughly one-third of its reve- nues from the annual event. That’s down from about half of its revenues before the recession, as the association has diversified to include other sources of income, Stone said. OAN tries not to be overly reliant on membership dues, keeping them at about one-third to one-fourth of its budget, he said. Instead, the group has be- gun offering more fee services, such as insurance and fuel pro- grams. While the Farwest Show is a major revenue stream, it’s also expensive to produce. Not only does the event require a lot of staff time, but renting the Oregon Convention Center isn’t cheap, said Stone. The location is great for OAN due to its ability to ac- commodate large events, he said. “Because of our size, we’re fairly limited on where we can go.”