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AGRI CULT URE FINA NCE SPEC IAL SECT ION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015 Bacteria discovery prompts Oregon quarantine Shipments of plants restricted in nine counties By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The discovery of a bacteri- al disease, Xylella fastidiosa, has convinced Oregon’s farm regulators to order a quaran- tine restricting shipments of susceptible plants from nine counties. The pathogen causes symptoms similar to drought stress and often kills affect- ed plants, as no treatments are available, said Helmuth Rogg, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s plant program area. A pear nursery in Hood River County fi rst reported disease symptoms earlier this year, which researchers from Washington State University found were caused by Xylella fastidiosa, he said. The Oregon Department of Agriculture was initially un- able to replicate these results but eventually confi rmed the bacteria’s presence after refi n- ing its test procedures, Rogg said. The agency then found that pear trees from the National Clonal Germplasm Deposi- tory in Corvallis, Ore., were infected with the bacteria and that pear scion wood from that facility had been sent to 22 sites in the state, he said. ODA is now trying to trace the disease’s source and where else infected plant ma- terial may have been shipped. It’s also issued an emer- gency quarantine for the nine counties where the pear tree scions were shipped: Benton, Hood River, Jackson, Lane, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Washington and Yamhill. Violating the quarantine is punishable by fi nes of up to $10,000. While the bacteria has so far been associated with pear trees, the quarantine prohibits shipments of any host plant material, including oak, ma- ple, blackberry, caneberry, blueberry and stone fruit, said Rogg. Turn to PLANTS, Page 12 VOLUME 88, NUMBER 50 PAGES 14-16 WWW.CAPITALPRESS.COM WHAT’S COOKING AT THE OFFICE $2.00 Capital Press fi le Glyphosate resistant Roundup Ready alfalfa is seen in Jack- son County, Ore. Settlement will allow county GMO ban to stand By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Eric Mortenson/Capital Press AirBNB employees enjoy a free lunch of locally sourced food at the company’s private restaurant in downtown Portland. The company, which employs 400 people at a nearby call center, provides free breakfast, lunch and all-day snacks to its workers, and buys from local farmers and processors when possible. Corporate cafes offer market for producers By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press P James Evans Harvey, having a lunch with laptop moment in a yurt at AirBNB’s call center in downtown Portland, says the fresh, locally sourced food fed free to her and other workers has a ripple effect of making employees feel better about their job. ORTLAND — For the record, it is possi- ble to fi nd a job where you do your work while sitting in a yurt with a laptop and a sandwich. The yurt, it should be said, is on the third fl oor of a 100-year-old building in Port- land’s Old Town, where street people provide ram- bling commentary and futilely shake parking pay stations for loose change. Inside the old building, up to 400 employees of AirBNB, the international online vacation rental hub whose other offi ces are in San Francisco and Dub- lin, Ireland, take calls and emails from all around the world while perched in cubby holes, arranged in themed mini-offi ces or, yes, occupying the yurt. But let’s talk about the sandwich. The greens are from Portland’s Sauvie Island Or- ganics. The ham is from Olympia Provisions, also of Portland, and the chutney was made in-house by AirBNB’s food team. The bread is from Pirate Bread, a North Portland startup. All of which is intentional. AirBNB provides free breakfast, lunch and all-day snacks to its call center workers fi ve days a week. As much as possi- ble — bananas, orange juice, coffee and chocolate are among the few exceptions — the food is locally Turn to CAFES, Page 12 “I’m a new mom and for me it’s profoundly important to know the food going into my body and my baby’s body was grown, produced and made with a whole lot of love.” James Evans Harvey AirBNB employee The prohibition against ge- netically engineered crops in Jackson County, Ore., will be allowed to stand if a proposed settlement is fi nalized, barring a new legal challenge to the ordinance. Voters in the county ap- proved the ban last year, which prompted alfalfa grow- ers Schulz Family Farms and James and Marilyn Frink to fi le a lawsuit claiming the ordinance violated Oregon’s “right to farm” law. In May, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke rejected their argument, fi nding that the “right to farm” statute is intended to protect growers from lawsuits and ordinanc- es against common farming practices, but it exempts farm- ers who want to avoid damage to their crops. “While farming practices may not be limited by a sub- urbanite’s sensitivities, they may be limited if they cause damage to another farm’s crops,” Clarke said in the rul- ing. While the plaintiffs lost this argument, they still sought more than $4 million for the lost value of the bio- tech alfalfa crops they’d have to destroy when the ordinance went into effect. Also, the growers would eventually be able to chal- lenge Clarke’s “right to farm” ruling before the 9th U.S. Cir- cuit Court of Appeals once the original lawsuit was closed. They’ve now agreed to give up that right and drop their other claims against Jackson County under a pro- posed settlement that would in turn allow their alfalfa to stay in the ground, but for no longer than eight years. While other farmers are not bound by the agreement, which must still be approved by the judge, any future law- suits would have to “grapple” Turn to GMO, Page 12 SPOTTED OWL: Appeals court clears salvage logging project Page 5 Apple marketers look for more shelf space Page 4 Website seeks to correct chicken production misconceptions Page 13 50-4/#5