CapitalPress.com
July 8, 2016
FAA releases new rules for
commercial drones
Dairies reducing nitrogen, EPA says
By DAN WHEAT
Source:
PrecisionHawk
Capital Press
Alan Kenaga/
Capital Press
SUNNYSIDE, Wash. —
Three Lower Yakima Valley
dairies have made progress in
controlling sources of nitro-
gen to a drinking water aqui-
fer in the three years since
reaching a legal agreement
with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the agen-
cy says.
The dairies have made
“important progress” and
“will continue this work as re-
quired by the consent order,”
said Lucy Edmondson, direc-
tor of EPA’s Washington state
offi ce.
The Cow Palace, owned
by the Dolsen family, George
DeRuyter & Son Dairy, and
Henry Bosma Dairy and Lib-
erty Dairy, both owned by the
Bosma family, have improved
fi eld manure application and
irrigation practices, the EPA
said in a public update.
Nitrogen levels have
dropped below the excessive
level of 45 parts per million
at 2 feet deep in 11 out of 20
fi elds and levels in the other
nine appear to be declining,
said Suzanne Skadowski, EPA
spokeswoman in Seattle.
Nitrogen levels in 26
groundwater monitor levels
have not yet improved but the
EPA believes it will, Skad-
owski said.
“We don’t know how
much nitrogen is built up in
soils and rocks over the years,
so we don’t know how soon it
will go down,” she said.
“The good news is that
better management by an
agronomist adjusting the land
application is dropping the
amount of nitrogen in fi elds
and we expect it will improve
in the wells,” she said.
The dairies have demon-
strated in their own monitor-
ing that they are the source of
at least some nitrate pollution
but how much versus histori-
cal build up of nitrate in soils
is an open question, she said.
In 2012, EPA concluded
the dairies likely were signif-
icant contributors to high ni-
trate levels in groundwater.
Adam Dolsen, owner of
Cow Palace Dairy, said he’s
pleased with the nitrate re-
duction but didn’t think it was
very bad in his fi elds to be-
gin with. With the help of the
agronomist, hired by the dair-
ies and approved by the EPA,
Operator
Airspace
Drone
• At least 16 years old
• No pilot’s license required
• Pass FAA’s aeronautical
knowledge tests
• Obtain remote pilot certificate
•
•
•
•
• Weight under 55 pounds
• Register drone online
• Keep drone within line of
sight
• Daylight operations only
No 333 exemption required
Maximum altitude: 400 feet
Maximum airspeed: 100 mph
No flights near airports/
restricted airspaces
New FAA rules for drones could be
a ‘game-changer’ for agriculture
By SEAN ELLIS
and ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
New federal rules for the
operation of small drones will
lead to more innovation in the
agricultural industry and open
up their use to the average
farmer, industry experts say.
“I think it will be a real
game-changer for extending
the use of unmanned aircraft
systems in precision agricul-
ture,” said Donna Delparte,
who is leading Idaho State
University’s research on the
use of drones in agriculture.
“It’s going to really be a
ground-breaking technology
for growers.”
The Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration on June 21 re-
leased rules for the use of
unmanned aircraft systems
weighing less than 55 pounds.
They go into effect in mid- to
late August.
Ryan Jenson, CEO of Hon-
eyComb Corp., an Oregon
drone manufacturing company,
said the rules are a “big deal”
because they remove the uncer-
tainty that dogged the industry.
He said his company has al-
ready received increased inter-
est from potential buyers and
dealers and expects to double
capacity in the next year.
“Now the U.S. market is
really primed to take off,” he
said.
Matthew Balderree, chief
UAS pilot for PrecisionHawk,
a North Carolina drone compa-
ny, said the FAA’s requirements
for drone use were in a gray
area before.
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
A drone operator explains the potential uses of unmanned aircraft
systems in agriculture after a demonstration fl ight over a South-
western Idaho vineyard in April 2015. Industry experts say the
FAA’s new rules for drones will open the door for the average
farmer to use the technology.
“It clears up the rule aspect
of it,” he said about the new
regulations. “It puts it out in
black and white.”
He said one of the highlights
of the new rules is that drone
operators no longer will be re-
quired to have a pilot’s license.
People who wanted to fl y
drones previously had to obtain
an exemption from Section 333
of the FAA Modernization and
Reform Act of 2012, the rules
for certifying the airworthiness
of aircraft. It was a lengthy pro-
cess that required a lot of paper-
work, Delparte said.
Now they must register their
drone with the FAA and pass an
aeronautics knowledge test to
qualify to fl y a drone.
“It is going to be so much
easier for farmers” to use
drones, Balderree said. “The
barrier for entry ... is a fair
amount easier.”
In an explanation of the
SAGE Fact #132
The Columbia River Basin supports the best
onion yields of any growing area on earth.
The region offers ideal conditions with rich
low-bacteria soil, water for irrigation, and
long sunny days with cool nights.
28-2/#6
new rules sent to Capital Press,
PrecisionHawk Executive Vice
President Thomas Haun said,
“the new rules allow for a
much broader access to drone
technology that can be used by
a wider audience of people.”
With the new rules, “as long
as you meet a few pretty min-
imal requirements and operate
safely, you can legally operate
drones in agriculture and other
commercial opportunities,” he
said. “What I think you’re go-
ing to see is a movement from
a few very select companies
operating drones previously to
a broad community of farmers
having access to the technolo-
gy.”
The new rules require small
drones to be fl own below 400
feet and within the pilot’s line
of sight. Operators can fl y a
drone from a moving vehicle if
they aren’t the ones driving and
if it’s done in a sparsely popu-
lated area.
The next major step for agri-
culture when it comes to drone
use would be to allow farmers
to operate them beyond line of
sight, Haun said.
“This will provide much
more effi ciency to farmers and
help keep the cost down of the
drone operations,” he said.
By STEVE TOOL
EO Media Group
LEGAL
NOTICE OF SALE
On Friday, July 22, 2016 at 11:00 a.m.
Pacific Daylight Time, Papé Kenworth
will offer for sale, to the highest
bidder, all, but no part of, the
following equipment: One (1)
2006
Kenworth
Truck,
VIN
1XKAD49XX6J104955. The sale will
be open to the public and bids will
be received orally. Terms of sale are
25% cash payment upon acceptance
of the bid with the balance payable
within 48 hours. The equipment will
be held pending receipt of the full
bid price and is sold AS IS - WHERE IS
- AND WITH ALL FAULTS condition,
with no representations or war-
ranties as to fitness for any particular
application whatsoever and may be
examined at 4300 Hanley Dr., Suite
100, Central Point, OR 97502. Papé
Trucks, Inc. dba Papé Kenworth
reserves the right to bid on the
equipment and the right to reject
any one or all of the bids received.
PAPÉ TRUCKS, INC. DBA PAPÉ KEN-
WORTH 541-772-5211 Legal-28-2-1/#18
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Dan DeRuyter, co-owner of George DeRuyter & Son Dairy, Sunny-
side, Wash., and Dan Evans, president of Promus Energy, stand
on the dairy’s digester in this 2012 fi le photo. The digester converts
methane from manure into electricity, reducing nitrates.
Dan Wheat/Capital Press
Some of the milk cows at
George DeRuyter & Son Dairy,
Sunnyside, Wash., are shown
in a 2012 fi le photo. The EPA
says this dairy and two others
are making progress in lowering
nitrate levels in fi elds.
Cow Palace was able to get 95
percent of its fi elds below 45
ppm within a year, he said.
Sensors alert the dairies
if effl uent irrigation water
reaches 3 feet in depth and
the dairy shuts off the water
or diverts it to another fi eld.
Nitrates getting to the ground-
water aquifer are reduced by
curtailing water from leaving
the root zone.
To minimize nitrogen en-
tering manure lagoons, Cow
Palace and Liberty added
centrifuges to solid screening
and George DeRuyter & Son
added a dissolved air fl otation
solids removal system.
To minimize lagoon leak-
age, the dairies are planning
to line 41 lagoons.
The lagoons already are
lined to USDA Natural Re-
source Conservation Service
standards and the dairies
agreed to higher standards
with Community Association
for Restoration of the Envi-
ronment, Dolsen said.
EPA didn’t approve those
but “it was frustrating because
EPA wouldn’t tell us what it
wanted,” Dolsen said. The
dairies hired a different en-
gineer and decided to install
double synthetic liners that
were approved by the EPA,
he said.
Cow Palace plans to install
the fi rst one in late summer at
a signifi cant cost.
“So much higher costs puts
us at a competitive disadvan-
tage with other dairies around
the nation,” Dolsen said. “All
of this is costing each of us
millions of dollars and we’re
falling behind in installing
milk meters and upgrading
milking barns. We’re dipping
into reserves to keep things
afl oat.”
The dairies are paying for
reverse osmosis water treat-
ment for drinking water for
110 down gradient well own-
ers with elevated nitrate lev-
els.
The dairies will continue
monitoring wells quarterly for
fi ve more years and then will
submit an eight-year report. If
nitrate trends are not down-
ward, the dairies will further
assess and propose and imple-
ment additional controls.
Dan DeRuyter, co-own-
er of George DeRuyter &
Sons, said he’s still working
on an effort to convert a ma-
nure digester from producing
electricity to producing nat-
ural gas. That system is not
required by EPA but would
lessen nitrates.
In 2012, DeRuyter said
the conversion would cost
$13.5 million. Cow Palace
planned to be involved at that
point but has subsequently
dropped out. Dolsen said it
doesn’t produce liquid ma-
nure needed except for three
months of the year. Promus
Energy, Seattle, was involved
in that project, which was to
be the only one of its kind on
the West Coast and may be
unique in the nation.
ODFW confi rms Shamrock pack depredation
ENTERPRISE, Ore. —
Two suspected wolf depreda-
tion investigations by the Or-
egon Department of Fish and
Wildlife resulted in one possi-
ble/other designation and one
confi rmed wolf depredation.
The ODFW investigated the
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder,
on 7/11/2016. The sale will be
held at 10:00 am by
VISION DIESEL
12142 SKY LANE AURORA, OR
2003 Ford Excursion SUV
VIN - 1FMSU34P63EB95652
Amount due on lien $3,555.00
Reputed owner(s)
Michael and Valarie Howland
incidents on June 16 and June
28.
The fi rst suspected depre-
dation took place in the Beel-
er Ridge area east of Joseph.
A rancher left behind several
tired cows from a cattle drive
in the area on June 16. When
he returned with a second
drive on June 18, he found the
remains of one of the cattle.
The ODFW investigated the
same day and concluded that
the cow died on June 17, but
labeled its death as a possible/
unknown because of a lack of
evidence.
The most recent incident
occurred in the Kuhn Ridge
area northwest of Enterprise.
Firewood cutters found the re-
mains of a calf about 4 months
old on a U.S. Forest Service
grazing allotment on Tuesday.
The ODFW investigated the
same day and determined the
calf died the previous night.
The investigation con-
fi rmed the remains as a dep-
redation after measuring bite
marks on the carcass and fi nd-
ing the presence of numerous
wolf tracks nearby. GPS data
also indicated the presence of
two wolves from the Sham-
rock pack in the area on Mon-
day. The ODFW previously
confi rmed the same pack had
killed a llama about 15 miles
north of the area on May 9.
The ODFW states the June
28 confi rmation as the sev-
enth in Wallowa County this
year along with one probable
depredation. As a whole, the
state has 11 confi rmed wolf
depredations and two that
were determined as probable.
28-1/#4
SIXTEENTH ANNUAL
ROP-27-5-2/#24
NOVEMBER 15, 16 and 17, 2016
20,000 Sq. Ft.
28-4/#5
4
28-4/#8