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January 8, 2016 CapitalPress.com 3 Hazelnut pricing dispute settled Lawsuit against farmers’ cooperative dismissed By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA — Washing- ton farmers lost at least $336 million to the drought last summer, a preliminary esti- mate likely to climb as more figures on yields and prices became available, according to a report by the state De- partment of Agriculture. The report estimated spe- cific dollar losses for only a handful of crops — wheat, apples, blueberries and red raspberries. Losses for other commod- ities, including Washington mainstays such as potatoes, milk and cattle, will be tal- lied later as information be- comes available, according to WSDA. The report suggests the drought affected most grow- ers. Nearly two-thirds who answered a WSDA survey said the quality or market- ability of their crops suffered in the state’s first drought in a decade. “I suspect in the final re- port the losses will be high- er,” WSDA spokesman Hec- tor Castro said. “This early report confirms what a lot of people knew: The drought caused a lot of harm for farmers around the state.” The early look also sur- veyed field-by-field drought damage in the Kittitas Rec- lamation District, a major producer of Timothy hay in Central Washington. The district suffered $11.4 million in damage, ac- cording to the report. The U.S. Bureau of Rec- lamation supplied growers with 47 percent of their nor- mal water allotment, but that was only part of the prob- lem, the irrigation district’s manager, Urban Eberhart, said Thursday. Record heat scorched fields, allowing more drought-tolerant grasses to take hold. The result will be lower-grade hay in 2016 and 2017, said Eberhart, himself a hay farmer. The shortage of water in October also threw farmers off their field rotation sched- ules, he said. “We had a water year unlike any other water year we’ve had before,” Eberhart said. “The heat played a tre- mendous factor.” A field survey of damage has not yet been completed for the 72,000-acre Roza Irrigation District in the Yakima Valley, where farm- ers also received less than half of their normal water supplies. WSDA will issue a final report one year from now on the drought’s impact on Washington’s farm econo- my, which the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture calculat- ed was worth $10.1 billion in 2014. “This is an incomplete picture, and we know that it’s an incomplete picture,” Castro said. “We’re not through counting yet. A lot of commodity groups are not counted because the infor- mation wasn’t available.” The report’s findings in- clude: • Wheat production was particularly hard-hit. The harvest was down 22 per- cent from the average yields over the previous five years. At recent prices, the lower yields could cost farmers $212.4 million. In 2014, USDA reported Washington’s wheat crop was worth $715 million. • The apple industry es- timated the drought or ex- treme heat reduced produc- tion by 280 million pounds. Based on 2014 prices, the lower yields represented a potential loss of $86.52 million. Apples were a $1.9 billion business in 2014. Early harvest variet- ies were most affected by water shortages and heat in the Yakima Valley. Ap- ple growing regions to the north in Chelan, Okanogan and Douglas counties were hurt less by the drought. • Blueberries, grown pri- marily in northwest Wash- ington, also lost production to the heat. Based on esti- mates from growers, the drought reduced yields by 8 million pounds, causing a loss in income of approxi- mately $12 million. • Red raspberries, also grown in the northwest cor- ner of the state, suffered a 26 percent decline in pro- duction. The lower yields cost farmers an estimated $13.9 million. • Cherries and pears, two of Washington’s top 10 crops, were harvested early because of high tem- peratures in Central Wash- ington and the Columbia Basin. The crops, however, sustained little damage. • Some 460 growers were asked whether the drought and heat impacted the quality or marketabili- ty of their crops. About 65 percent said they had. • One-third of growers said they spent money for drought-relief measures such as cloth shades, sprin- klers or more efficient irri- gation equipment. The preliminary as- sessment did not try to put a figure on how much farmers spent to cope with drought. Washington plots spring attack against gypsy moths Campaign to include spraying over Seattle By DON JENKINS of acres of forests, parks and residential landscapes each OLYMPIA — The Wash- year, according to the U.S. ington State Department of Department of Agriculture. Over the past three de- Agriculture proposes to aeri- al spray 10,450 acres in seven cades, Western states have places, including 130 acres in succeeded in preventing a densely populated Seattle gypsy moths from tak- neighborhood, to eradicate ing hold. Washington has gypsy moths, an invasive sprayed for gypsy moths 93 times since 1979. pest that defoliates trees. WSDA last summer The campaign will be the trapped 42 gyp- largest against sy moths, the gypsy moths most caught in Washing- since 2007. The ton since 1992 22 European and the first gypsy moths since 2006 to trapped on Se- include apply- attle’s Capi- ing a pesticide tol Hill and 10 over a portion Asian gypsy of Washington’s moths trapped largest city, elsewhere in where previous Western Wash- applications ington were par- have been met ticularly con- with protests cerning. and unsuccess- WSDA found ful court chal- in the fall gypsy lenges. moth egg mass- WSDA will es on Capitol send postcards, hold open hous- Courtesy of John H. Ghent, U.S. Hill, confirm- Forest Service ing the pests are es and conduct reproducing, environmental A gypsy moth caterpillar reviews before feeds on a tree. The Wash- Castro said. At least one Eu- formally final- ington State Department ropean gypsy izing the plan of Agriculture proposes moth has been to spray Bacil- to spray 10,450 acres in trapped in the lus thuringien- seven places in Western sis var. kursta- Washington next spring to neighborhood for the past four ki, commonly eradicate the leaf-eating summers. known as Btk, pests. Asian gypsy over mostly urban areas. The spraying moths had not been detected will be done in the spring as in Washington since 1999. caterpillars emerge. WSDA Asian gypsy moths are con- typically sprays an area sidered more dangerous to spread because the females three times. “We understand there can fly, while European gypsy would be concern given the moth females are flightless. Besides on Capitol Hill, nature of the application we are proposing,” WSDA WSDA plans to spray: • 7,000 acres around the spokesman Hector Castro said. “Once (gypsy moths) Port of Tacoma, northeast are established, there’s no Tacoma and the neighboring getting rid of them. We need cities of Fife and Milton. • 800 acres around the to prevent them from get- ting established in the first Port of Vancouver. The Or- egon Department of Agri- place.” European gypsy moths culture trapped two Asian are entrenched in 20 Atlantic gypsy moths last summer on and Great Lakes states and the other side of the Colum- strip hundreds of thousands bia River and plans to spray Capital Press more than 8,000 acres next spring in Portland. • 640 acres in Kent. • 640 acres in Lacey. • 640 acres in Nisqually. • 600 acres in Gig Harbor. WSDA based its proposal on recommendations from a panel of gypsy moth experts that included government and university scientists. Btk was developed in the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to other insecti- cides. Btk gained popularity because it broke down more quickly in the environment and was harmless to bees, birds, fish and mammals, ac- cording to the USDA. ROP-32-52-2/#17 Most farmers report damage to their crops in lower quality, yields Jeff Fox, CEO of the coop- erative, said HGO reached a settlement with Smith’s estate but could not comment on the specifics. The disagreement arose af- ter creditors attempted to gar- nish the revenues of Smith’s estate after his death, HGO became involved in the pro- ceedings because it had rights to hazelnuts delivered by Smith, Fox said. The estate’s lawsuit against HGO was the result of confusion over the meaning of “field price,” as the cooper- ative eventually paid its mem- bers more than the initial rate set after harvest, he said. Smith’s estate believed it was owed 35 cents above the final price, rather than the original rate, which led to the dispute, Fox said. “I probably ROP-2-2-4/#4x 12th Annual Cattleman’s Workshop Opportunities in a Changing Beef Cattle Industry Saturday, January 16th, 2016 BLUE MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE CENTER 404 12th STREET, LA GRANDE, OR 9:00 - 9:15 Workshop Introductions & Overview 9:15 - 10:15 Opportunities for a Cow/Calf Operation in a Changing Industry; Nevil Speer; VP, U.S. Operations, AgriClear, Bowling Green, Kentucky 10:15 - 10:45 Break (provided by sponsors) 10:45 - 11:45 Current and Future Economic Outlook for the US Beef Industry; David Anderson; Texas A&M Livestock and Food Products Marketing Economist, College Station, Texas 11:45 - 1:00 Lunch (provided by sponsors) 1:00 – 2:00 Sustainable Rangeland Grazing for Western Rangelands; Chad Boyd; Rangeland Ecologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service, EOARC Burns Station, Burns, Oregon 2:00 – 3:00 Opportunities for More Efficient Cow/Calf Production; Padlock Ranch Perspective; Cody Peck; Operations Analyst, Padlock Ranch Company, Ranchester, Wyoming 3:00 – 3:15 Break (provided by sponsors) 3:15 – 4:15 Ranching in the Presence of Wolves; Casey Anderson; Ranch Manager, OX Ranch, Bear, Idaho Note: For more information, please contact Kim McKague or Tim DelCurto at (541) 562-5129 http://oregonstate.edu/dept/eoarcunion ROP-2-2-2/#6 Washington drought losses estimated at $336M – and counting ROP-2-2-2/#14 Courtesy of Melissa Hansen, Washington Dept. of Ecology Irrigation equipment sits idle on fields in the Kittitas Reclamation District in Central Washington in early September. The Washington State Department of Agriculture has made a preliminary assess- ment of crop and livestock losses due to the 2015 drought. A lawsuit over a pricing dispute between an Oregon hazelnut farmers cooperative and the estate of a deceased entrepreneur in the aviation and agriculture industries has been settled. In September 2015, the Ha- zelnut Growers of Oregon co- operative was accused of vio- lating a contract with the estate of Delford Smith, the founder of now-bankrupt Evergreen Aviation and Evergreen Agri- cultural Enterprises in McMin- nville, Ore. The complaint claimed that HGO agreed to pay Smith, who died in 2014, 35 cents per pound above the field price established by the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Associa- tion, which sets prices between farmers and processors. Smith’s es- tate alleged it was owed an Fox added $150,000 for delivering 1 million pounds of hazelnuts to the cooperative because the field price for ha- zelnuts ultimately increased from $1.15 to $1.30 per pound. On Dec. 28, a judge in Multnomah County Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit at the behest of the plaintiffs. The dispute could have had implications beyond the con- tract between HGO and the Smith’s estate because mem- bers of the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association aren’t allowed to pay higher prices to individual farmers. should have done a better job clarifying that within the con- tract.” Capital Press was unable to reach the attorney repre- senting Smith’s estate. As to the question about preferential payments, Fox said the cooperative is not subject to the contract be- tween farmers and the Ha- zelnut Growers Bargaining Association. However, a com- pany owned by the coopera- tive, Westnut, is a signatory, he said. Even so, HGO tries to “minimize any disruption” over prices, so the contract with Smith was intended to pay the same level above the initial field price as other growers received, Fox said. Doug Olsen, president of the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association, refused to comment on the situation.