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4 CapitalPress.com June 3, 2016 U.S. farms hiring more workers, survey shows By DAN WHEAT Capital Press U.S. farms are hiring more workers and paying them more, according to a USDA report. In April, farms employed 2 percent more workers than a year earlier, the report showed. In January, the num- ber of workers was 6 percent more than a year earlier. The farm labor report for the fi rst half of 2016 was re- leased May 19 by the USDA National Agricultural Sta- tistics Service. It showed 703,000 people were em- ployed directly on farms and ranches the week of April 10-16 and 582,000 were em- ployed Jan. 10-16. Those numbers include field and livestock work- ers, supervisors, managers and office staff but do not include people working for farm labor contractors, said Teresa Varner, NASS labor statistician in Washington, D.C. Farm employment has ups and downs and the re- port was normal in the num- ber of employees and their wages, she said. The largest percentage increase in the number of workers during April was in Grower: Grain farmers should join forces, negotiate higher prices By TIM HEARDEN One white-nose syndrome case found so far Capital Press Tim Hearden/Capital Press Frank Endres discusses barley varieties and grain marketing during a fi eld day near Corning, Calif., on May 26. Endres has traveled around the country to make his pitch for more participation in grow- er marketing groups. He says most major commodity grow- ers only take in 30 to 40 per- cent of “parity” — the amount they’d need to remain profi t- able amid rising input costs. He contends farm prices need to be higher to entice younger people into agriculture. The term “parity” in agri- culture has its roots in the early 20th century, when prices were relatively high and farms were profi table during a “Golden Age” of farming before World War I. The doctrine of parity led to New Deal-era legislation and other attempts at govern- ment-imposed price controls, but Endres and others are now advocating a free-market solu- tion in which growers are vol- untarily represented as a group. Such an approach could work, but it would depend on having a large share of the relevant supply, said Daniel Sumner, a University of Cali- fornia-Davis agricultural econ- omist. If a substitute supply of the commodity is available, then collective action couldn’t raise prices enough to improve revenue, he said. Moreover, to raise prices the members would need to restrict the quantity available, and that’s diffi cult if growers outside the group can benefi t from the higher price without restricting how much they pro- duce, Sumner said. earned $12.01, up 4 percent. Laborers worked an av- erage of 40.4 hours in the April 2016 reference week compared with 39.9 hours a year earlier. Farm workers received an average of $12.83 per hour in the January 2016 week, up 2 percent from 2015. Field workers were paid $11.84, up 4 percent and livestock workers, at $12.02, were up 3 percent. The survey is conduct- ed twice a year. The sample is about 13,000 farms and ranches of $1,000 or more in sales in all states except Alaska. AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, File In this 2013 fi le photo taken near Fresno, Calif., farmworkers pick up paper trays of dried raisins off the ground and heap them onto a trailer in the fi nal step of raisin harvest. U.S. farmers are hiring more workers and paying them more, a survey shows. Bat disease continues to surprise in Washington By DON JENKINS Capital Press CORNING, Calif. — Commodity prices that lag below a farmer’s operating costs threaten the nation’s long-term food security, a grain grower says. Frank Endres, who grows about 2,500 acres of barley and other grains in the north- ern Sacramento Valley, says the consolidation of buyers into multinational companies has given them more leverage against growers to keep prices low. He argues growers need to band together in their market- ing and negotiations. “You’ve got to get with your neighbors so you’ll have the bargaining power to bring up the markets a little bit,” En- dres told about two dozen grain growers during a fi eld day May 26 on his ranch west of Corn- ing, Calif. “We have to have people that are aware that our food security in this country is being threatened now.” Endres, who also raises cat- tle, is part of a group of grow- ers in nine California coun- ties that market their grains together. He said the group is different from a cooperative, in which resources and income are pooled. His remarks capped a fi eld day in which he showed guests several barley trials he is working on with University of California researchers. The varieties are being bred for dis- ease resistance, said Endres’ son, Jack. Endres is a long-time mem- ber of the National Farmers Organization, which nego- tiates with major buyers on behalf of groups of growers across the country. Formed in the mid-1950s, the NFO is best known to many for organizing dairy farmers in 1967 to en- gage in a holding action to get higher prices for their milk. The group is separate from the National Farmers Union, which was formed in 1902 and is an advocacy group for growers. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio at 31 percent. Michigan, Min- nesota, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington also had in- creases. The largest decrease during the same period was in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, down 23 per- cent. Lesser decreases were seen in North Carolina, Vir- ginia, Iowa and Missouri. Farm operators paid workers an average of $12.75 per hour in the April 2016 reference week, up 4 percent from 2015. Field workers received an aver- age of $12 per hour, up 6 percent. Livestock workers A Washington state wild- life veterinarian calls the so- far fruitless search for more signs of the bat disease white- nose syndrome baffl ing but promising. A sick little brown bat found by hikers March 11 in a state park 30 miles east of Seattle was the fi rst confi rmed case of white-nose syndrome in the West. Previously, the disease had been documented only as far west as eastern Nebraska. The discovery raised con- cern that the fungus, deadly to insect-eating and farm- er-friendly bats, had somehow leaped across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Since then, the U.S. Geo- logical Survey has tested dozens of live and dead bats, along with soil samples and bat guano collected in caves. The tests have not detected the virus. “The fact we haven’t found anything else is puzzling,” Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian Katie Haman said Wednes- day. “It leaves a huge ques- tion mark. This is not the way white-nose syndrome works back east.” White-nose syndrome was fi rst documented in New York in 2007. By the beginning of this year, the fungus had been confi rmed in 28 East- ern, Southern and Midwestern states. In some states, discovery of the fungus in bat-dwelling At a glance White-Nose Syndrome Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey What it is: A disease affecting hibernating bats, a fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, appears as a white patch on the muzzle and other body parts. First documented: 2006-07 in New York state. Symptoms/mortality: Erratic behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside during daylight hours and clustering at cave entrances. WNS has killed more than 5.5 million bats in the Northeast and Canada. Where it is now: 28 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Bats affected: Eleven species, including four that are endangered. Impact to agriculture: Bats are primary consumers of insects. In temperate regions it’s estimated they provide insect suppression valued at more than $4 billion per year. For more information, go to: www.WhiteNoseSyndrome.org Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caves preceded the fi nding of diseased bats by one or more years. Finding a sick bat in Wash- ington led to speculation that the fungus had been in the Northwest for several years, becoming established while going undetected. The USGS National Wild- life Center in Madison, Wis., has so far tested nine dead and 25 live bats, along with 65 samples of soil and droppings. Haman on Wednesday sent 16 more dead bats to USGS. “I do think it’s good news we haven’t found it,” she said. “I’m hopeful we have detected it early and are out in front of the curve.” Scientists warn that cave explorers can spread white- nose syndrome by picking up the fungus on their clothing and equipment. Haman said fi nding more samples of the disease may provide clues of how it reached Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Washington. “We don’t have the information to even begin theorizing,” she said. Southern Illinois Univer- sity fi eld research last year in Midwest corn fi elds concluded bats prevent $1 billion a year in crop damage. An often-repeated claim that bats annually provide agriculture with $3.7 billion worth of pest control is based on a rough calculation made in 2011 in a short paper by four scientists. The scientists noted that Texas cotton farmers spend at least $12 per acre on pest control. The researchers mul- tiplied 12 by the more than 309 million acres of harvested cropland reported in the 2007 U.S. agriculture census. The resulting fi gure, approximate- ly $3.7 billion, has since been reported in news stories, press releases and government re- ports as the potential threat to agriculture. Courtesy of PAWS Wildlife Center A photo taken at the PAWS Wildlife Center in Lynnwood, Wash., shows the wing damage infl icted by white-nose syndrome on a little brown bat. The bat was found unable to fl y March 11 by hikers 30 miles east of Seattle. The bat was the fi rst and so far only confi rmed case of white-nose syndrome west of Nebraska. A U.S. Department of Ag- riculture spokeswoman said she could not fi nd any assess- ments of actual losses to agri- culture caused by white-nose syndrome. The U.S. Fish and Wild- life Service last year listed the northern long-eared bat as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of white-nose syn- drome. The bat ranges along the Atlantic Coast and as far west as Montana. Defenders of Wildlife has sued USFW in federal court in Washington, D.C., claim- ing the bat should be given the broader protections of an endangered species. The law- suit argues the infected bats need more forested areas to forage and roost because they emerge from hibernation in a weakened state. The Center for Biological Diversity has cited the threat white-nose syndrome poses to bats as grounds for opposing cave exploring, mining, oil and gas drilling, and pipeline construction, according to its website. New cider institute aims to guide fast-growing industry By ERIC MORTENSON Capital Press A new organization plans to help Oregon State Universi- ty and Cornell University train people to make hard apple ci- der, an industry that is growing rapidly in the Pacifi c North- west and is attracting the same LEGAL http://www.pvmi.org ) Request for Proposals: To produce a document that evaluates PVMI’s business practices including financial management, policies/procedures, and board/business operations, and recommends improvements. The work will include a 10-year business plan and a succession plan. Background: In August of 2005, the potato commissions of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho filed Articles of Incorporation to create the Potato Variety Management Institute (a.k.a. PVMI). Incorporated in Idaho as a tax-exempt, non-profit organization (501(c)3), and with the potato commissions as its sole members, PVMI’s stated purpose is “to enhance the agricultural capacity and resources of Idaho, Washington and Oregon for the benefit of their citizens by coordination of potato varietal research programs; management and protection of potato varieties created by state funding; and education of growers, processors and retailers.” The top priorities of PVMI are to ensure intellectual property protection (via the Plant Variety Protection Act), and to collect license and royalty income from users of potato varieties develop by the Northwest Potato Variety Development Program, a cooperative venture of USDA-ARS, the potato commissions, and Land Grant universities in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. PVMI currently manages thirty protected potato varieties, collects license fees and royalties from seed potato producers, and after covering its business costs, returns funds to USDA-ARS and the universities to support potato research at those institutions. Much has changed in the potato industry and research programs since PVMI was incorporated in 2005, and PVMI has accomplished more than the founders anticipated. In light of this change and success, the potato commission members and the PVMI board of directors have decided to embark on a formal planning process to launch PVMI into an even more successful second decade of operation. To respond to this RFP, please provide: • A proposal of no more than 5 pages describing how you would provide the documentdescribed above including a suggested timeline and cost estimate(s). • A description of at least two successful projects you have completed, similar to the one contemplated here. • At least two references from previous clients Deadline for receipt of proposals: June 15, 2016. Send all materials as a single PDF to Jeanne Debons, PVMI Executive Director, at: mailto:jeannedebons@msn.com Proposal review process and timeline: Proposal review will begin immediately after the June 15 deadline, with the aim of the PVMI board of directors selecting the successful consultant during its mid-July board meeting. We anticipate that most of the work of this project will be completed in the fall and winter months when the PVMI board members have more time available to dedicate to PVMI, with a completion deadline of March 15, 2017. Legal-23-2-7/#4 sort of connoisseurs who favor the region’s craft beer and fi ne wine. Formation of the Cider Institute of North America — known by the acronym CINA — was announced in late May. Nick Gunn, co-owner of Wan- dering Aengus Ciderworks in Salem, Ore., is chair of the new group’s board of directors. Gunn said the new orga- nization sprang to life be- cause English cider guru Peter Mitchell is retiring. Mitchell’s Cider & Perry Academy — “Perry” is hard cider made from pears — is based in the United Kingdom and Mitch- ell has been teaching cider makers in the U.S. since 2003. Gunn said he took one of the fi rst classes Mitchell taught in the U.S. “Education at this point in our industry is maybe the most critical thing to maintain cider quality in America,” Gunn said. “Maintaining a high lev- el of quality is the only way to keep moving forward.” Gunn said CINA will work with instructors at Oregon State’s Fermentation Center, which focuses on such things Eric Mortenson/Capital Press Nick Gunn of Wandering Aengus Ciderworks in Salem, Ore., is board chair of the new Cider Institute of North America. as beer, wine, cheese and yo- gurt production. He said foun- dational laboratory work and “Introduction to Cider Mak- ing” classes are necessary. He envisions students ob- taining a certifi cate that would help them get jobs in the in- dustry. The organization is apply- ing for nonprofi t tax status, which Gunn said will provide fl exibility in obtaining grants and conveying money to the university programs. CINA hopes to help universities pay for tenured faculty and for re- search and development costs. Making and drinking hard cider is particularly popular in the Pacifi c Northwest. Mem- bership in the Northwest Cider Association grew from 17 to 70 in a three-year span, and cider accounts for 4 percent of alcoholic beverage sales in Portland and Seattle, com- pared to 1.7 percent nationally. A former Cornell Universi- ty cider expert estimated that people in Oregon, Washington and California drink about 80 percent of the cider consumed in the U.S. LEGAL LEGAL LEGAL PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 98 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 6/7/2016. The sale will be held at 10:00am by PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 98 Notice is hereby given that the following vehicle will be sold, for cash to the highest bidder, on 6/7/2016. The sale will be held at 10:00 am by RETRIEVER TOWING 1768 13TH ST. SE, SALEM, OR 2009 Chevrolet Suburban VIN - 1GNFK26319J116081 Amount due on lien $1,511.00 Reputed owner(s) Sugar Bowl Ski Team Found Car Auto Wholesale Legal-22-2-4/#4 REVISED LOCATION FOR OREGON WHEAT COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING The Oregon Wheat Commis- sion public budget hearing on June 15, 2016 has been moved to Padget Ranches Shop at 60945 Lonerock Road, Grass Valley, OR 97029. The hearing will start at 1:30 p.m. For further information, contact the Oregon Wheat Com- mission office, 1200 NW Naito Parkway, Suite 370, Portland, OR 97209-2800 or by phone at (503) 467-2161. legal-23-2-7/#4 DISCOUNT TOWING & RECOVERY 3750 MAINLINE DR. NE, SALEM, OR 2013 INFINITY EX 37 4DR VIN - JN1BJ0HR2DM480570 Amount due on lien $3,241.00 Reputed owner(s) UTL OR WA CA legal-22-2-7/#4