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CapitalPress.com
November 6, 2015
People & Places
WSU scientist a ‘grower’s advocate’
Kim Patten
researches
cranberries,
shellfish issues
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By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
LONG BEACH, Wash. —
Washington State University
research scientist Kim Patten
has gained some fame, or no-
toriety, for trying everything
to rid Willapa Bay of burrow-
ing shrimp.
The shrimp’s tunneling
causes commercially grown
clams and oysters to sink in the
mud and suffocate. Left un-
checked, the shrimp will sink
shellfish farmers, too.
Patten has tried crush-
ing, blasting and paving over
shrimp. He’s tried organic con-
trols, such as garlic oil, mus-
tard seed and habanero pep-
per. He’s tried sound waves,
hoping annoyed shrimp would
move away. He has tried things
knowing full well that they
were, in his words, “stupid.”
Stupid but necessary. All
possibilities must be exhaust-
ed, he says, to build a case for
the one thing that has proven
effective — a chemical. “You
can’t justify trying the harsh
stuff until you try the safe
stuff,” he said.
Twenty-five years ago, Pat-
ten gave up a newly earned
tenured position at Texas
A&M University and returned
to his alma mater as director of
WSU’s Pacific Coast Cranber-
ry Research Station, an isolat-
ed and rundown outpost that
the university wanted to close.
The station survived,
thanks to protesting cranberry
growers and an influential state
senator, and so has Patten,
though he’s been nicked.
He’s been thrust into the
spotlight over the years, part-
ly by his own choosing, as an
advocate for pesticides, fungi-
cides and herbicides to take on
the pests, diseases and weeds
that infest the region’s cran-
berry bogs and shellfish beds.
“He’s a grower’s advocate.
He tries to do everything he
can for individual growers,”
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EO Media Group
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Washington State University research scientist Kim Patten holds a cranberry, and maybe the cranberry industry’s future, at the Pacific Coast
Cranberry Research Station in Long Beach. Over 25 years, Patten has been a high-profile advocate, and sometimes a target, for the Long Beach
Peninsula’s food producers.
Western Innovator
Kim Patten
Age: 62
Position: Washington State Uni-
versity Extension professor at Long
Beach; Pacific County Extension
director.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in plant science from University of
California-Davis in 1977; master’s degree in horticulture from Iowa
State University in 1980; Ph.D. in horticulture from Washington
State University in 1984.
Family: Wife, Andrea, and three grown children — Eli, Alisa and
Anja.
said cranberry farmer Mal-
colm McPhail.
In cranberry bogs, weeds
intertwine with vines. Patten
was a pioneer in testing Callis-
to, an herbicide the cranberry
industry has come to rely on to
control weeds without damag-
ing vines.
“Weed research has been
his forte,” McPhail said. “He’s
been incredible in that respect,
as far as getting new com-
pounds.”
Patten, now 62, oversees 11
acres of cranberry test plots.
Recently, he showed a visitor a
variety so new it doesn’t have
a name. The berries were large
and matched Patten’s crimson
WSU hat and sweater. This, he
said, would be a good berry for
Ocean Spray Craisins, a happy
prospect for the state’s grow-
ers, most of whom belong to
the co-op that produces the
dried cranberries along with
other products.
Although Patten was hired
to spearhead cranberry re-
search, he’s better known for
battling spartina and japonica
eelgrass, two invasive grasses
that, like burrowing shrimp,
defied mechanical controls.
Chemical warfare on sparti-
na was relatively popular, but
spraying eelgrass has been
controversial, with Patten sup-
porting shellfish farmers who
apply imazamox.
Someone once called him
“chemical Kim,” and the allit-
erative put down has been too
good ever since for reporters to
resist mentioning.
“It’s a pretty vicious, mean
world out there in terms of
social media,” Patten said.
“It’s not fun to be attacked
professionally, and I’ve been
attacked a lot professionally.”
The spotlight was partic-
ularly intense this year when
shellfish growers gave up a
permit from the Washing-
ton Department of Ecology
to spray burrowing shrimp
with imidacloprid, a chemi-
cal commonly used on land
crops and approved for use
in the bay by the U.S. Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency
and the Washington State De-
partment of Agriculture.
Imidacloprid was to re-
place the discontinued carba-
ryl, which had been used in the
bay for 50 years. DOE said the
switch would substantially re-
duce toxics in Willapa Bay and
Grays Harbor. The growers
thought they were making en-
vironmental strides, but critics
did not. The growers ultimate-
ly canceled the spraying after
waves of bad publicity and
threats of consumer boycotts.
“It left me feeling nauseous
and disgusted with modern so-
ciety and the way we deal with
food,” Patten said.
He said he’s wary of chem-
icals, but he deplores what he
describes as the public’s un-
reasoning fears and ignorance
of the regulatory framework
that vets their use.
Patten said he’s not opti-
mistic he will find an effective
alternative to imidacloprid,
but he doesn’t want to retire
until the problem is solved, so
he’ll keep trying. “There’s al-
ways something you can try,”
he said. “Maybe electricity.”
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Bounty of Oregon showcased at Capitol
By JAN JACKSON
For the Capital Press
SALEM — The rain made the
hay bales uncomfortable to sit on
but it didn’t otherwise dampen the
Bounty of Oregon Harvest Festival
at the Oregon Capitol.
Among the agriculture partners
for the free family-friendly event
were commodity associations, Ore-
gon Farm Bureau, Oregon Ag in the
Classroom and the state Parks and
Recreation Department.
Inside, kids clustered around
hands-on activity tables and outside
they got to climb on tractors, pet
lambs and pick out free pumpkins to
take home. The agriculture-themed
event was the third in new series of
programs sponsored by the Oregon
State Capitol Foundation and funded
with money from the sale of Pacific
Wonderland license plates.
Oregon State Capitol Visitor
Services Event representative Stacy
Nalley praised the ag event partners
who supported their efforts.
“Every event is unique and this
one allowed agriculture to be at the
forefront.” Nalley said. “We had
about 500 to 600 adults and children
learning and having fun in a safe
environment while at the same time
giving associations an opportunity
to showcase their programs and an-
swer questions.”
Other special events have in-
cluded those celebrating Oregon’s
history, learning about the Japanese
culture, showcasing the importance
of reusing and recycling and cele-
brating the Hispanic Heritage.
“During the events, we hear peo-
ple say that ‘This is the first time I
have been in the Capitol’ or ‘I ha-
ven’t been here since I was on a
school tour in the fourth grade,’” she
said. “Our goal is for our visitors to
know this is their building, they are
welcome, and if they choose they
can get involved in democracy. Our
event partners are helping us accom-
plish that.”
Nellie Oehler, a 50-year veter-
an Benton County 4-H Club lead-
er from Corvallis, worked with
the Ram Ewe Downs club to bring
lambs to exhibit on the Capitol
Mall.
“It was a lot of work for these
kids to get the lambs fed and get
them to Salem that early in the
morning, but education and com-
munity service is part of what they
do as a 4-H club,” Oehler said. “The
club members put together little bag-
gies of wool for each child to take
home and handed out postcards that
showed in pictures what happens to
the wool once it leaves the sheep.”
She said the most-asked question
was how old the lambs were. One
was three weeks and the other four
weeks.
DuPont opens cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa
NEVADA, Iowa (AP) —
DuPont is announcing the
opening of an ethanol plant
that will make the fuel addi-
tive from corn stalks, leaves
and cobs instead of the grain
itself.
The $225 million refinery
in central Iowa is touted as the
world’s largest cellulosic eth-
anol plant, which is designed
to make 30 million gallons
annually once it’s in full pro-
duction next year.
The Oct. 30 opening of the
plant comes at a challenging
time for the ethanol industry,
which has been battling the
petroleum industry over how
much ethanol the government
will require to be used in the
nation’s automotive gas sup-
ply.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency is sched-
uled to come up with its final
recommendations this month
after proposing to cut the re-
newable fuel standard from
levels Congress set earlier.
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Jan Jackson/For the Capital Press
Nellie Oehler, a Ram Ewe Downs 4-H Club
leader, gives out baggies of wool to young visi-
tors at the Bounty of Oregon Harvest Fistival at
the Oregon Capitol.
Cougar snatches Yorkie from owner’s porch
SALEM (AP) — An
8-year-old Yorkshire Terri-
er was carried away from its
owner’s porch in Oregon by an
animal believed to be a young
cougar.
The Statesman Journal re-
ports that Mark Jensen says he
watched a large cat carry away
his dog, Bub, at his house near
Sublimity early the morning of
Oct. 28.
He told Marion County
Sheriff’s deputies that the ani-
mal cornered the Yorkie on the
porch before carrying it away.
Jensen described the cat as
weighing between 35 and 50
pounds with brown and white
markings.
Calendar
To submit an event go to the Community
Events calendar on the home page of our
website at www.capitalpress.com and click
on “Submit an Event.” Calendar items can
also be mailed to Capital Press, 1400 Broad-
way St. NE, Salem, OR 97301.
North Las Vegas, Nev. Conference highlights
include local food successes in southern
Nevada, breaking down barriers within the
local food movement and making important
connections in the local food chain.
Monday, Nov. 9
Wednesday-Saturday
Nov. 11-14
Meridian FFA Scholarship Auction, 5:30 p.m.,
Meridian High School Professional Technical
Center, Meridian, Idaho, 208-350-4160.
Free tri-tip dinner followed by several silent
auction rooms and a live auction.
Tri-State Grain Growers Convention, Daven-
port Grand Hotel, Spokane, Wash.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
Thursday-Friday
Nov. 12-13
Nevada Governor’s Conference on Agricul-
ture, Culinary Academy of Las Vegas,
Oregon Water Law Conference, Hilton Exec-
utive Tower, Portland.
Friday-Sunday
Nov. 13-15
Tilth Producers of Washington 2015 Annual
Conference, Spokane Convention Center,
Spokane, Wash. 206-632-7506.
Monday-Thursday
Nov. 16-19
Washington Farm Bureau 2015 Annual
Meeting & Trade Show, Yakima Convention
Center, Yakima.
Thursday-Friday
Nov. 19-20
Idaho Water Users Association annual water
law and resource issues seminar, 8:30 a.m.
Riverside Hotel, Boise, (208) 344-6690.
Several hot-topic water issues are on the
agenda for the Idaho Water Users Associ-
ation’s annual fall water law and resource
issues seminar.
Friday, Nov. 20
Agri-Business Council of Oregon Denim &
Diamonds Auction, Dinner & Awards, 5 p.m.
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, 503-
595-9121.
Friday-Saturday
Nov. 27-28
Open Alpaca Barn, Alpacas of Oregon,
Sherwood, 503-628-2023.
Letters to the Editor: Send your
comments on agriculture-related public
issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or
mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital
Press. Letters should be limited to
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Index
California ...............................11
Dairy .................................... 13
Idaho ...................................... 9
Livestock ............................. 13
Markets ............................... 15
Opinion .................................. 6
Oregon ................................ 10
Washington ........................... 8
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