10 CapitalPress.com
August 12, 2016
Idaho
Oregon cheesemakers place in competition Final
burn proposal
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Five Oregon cheesemakers won
awards in the recent American Cheese
Society’s annual competition, held in
Des Moines, Iowa.
Rogue Creamery, of Central Point,
won six awards. The creamery took
second place for its Flora Nelle Organ-
ic and third for its Caveman Blue and
third for its Tolman Organic in the cate-
gory of blue-veined cheeses with a rind;
second for Echo Mountain Blue Cheese
in the rindless/goat’s milk category;
third for two-year-old Organic Cheddar;
and third for Smokey TouVelle in the
smoked cheese open category.
Ancient Heritage Dairy, of Port-
land, won fi rst place for Hannah in the
“American Originals” category.
Ochoa Queseria, based in Albany,
won fi rst place for its Queso Oaxaca
in the Hispanic- and Portuguese-style
melting cheeses.
Oregon State University Creamery,
in Corvallis, won third place for its
Smoked Cheddar.
Tillamook County Creamery As-
sociation, of Tillmook, won second
place for its hot habanero Monterey
Jack; second place for its white sharp
cheddar aged two years or less; third
place for its extra sharp cheddar aged
two to four years; and third place for
its salted sweet cream butter.
Contest results were announced
July 29. The contest is the nation’s
largest cheese competition. Entries
are judged on fl avor, aroma, texture
and technical accomplishments. The
contest this year attracted 1,843 en-
tries from 260 processors in North and
South America.
Ad encourages Oregonians to oppose monument plan
Capital Press
Area in
detail
JORDAN VALLEY, Ore.
— A TV ad aired on MSNBC
in the Portland region during
the Democratic national con-
vention encouraged people to
oppose a proposed national
monument in Malheur Coun-
ty.
The ad was paid for by the
Owyhee Basin Stewardship
Coalition, which was formed
by a group of ranchers and
other Malheur County res-
idents this year to oppose a
proposed national monument
on 2.5 million acres in an area
of the county known as the
Owyhee Canyonlands.
That represents 40 percent
of the county’s total land, and
opponents worry it would re-
strict grazing and other eco-
nomic opportunities.
Rancher and coalition mem-
ber Mark Mackenzie said the
majority of Eastern Oregon res-
idents are aware of the proposal
and oppose it, and the coalition
is trying to ensure people in the
rest of the state know about it.
The coalition has also had
“No Monument” billboard
signs along the Interstate 5 cor-
ridor for about six weeks, he
said.
“We’re trying to broaden
the coalition base to get people
in Portland and the Willamette
BAKER
Ore.
Idaho
By SEAN ELLIS
Ore.
26
Proposed national Ontario
conservation area
Nyssa
20
Sean Ellis/Capital Press
Valley to stand up and say,
‘No,’” he said.
“We’re trying to spread the
message to folks who may not
even know what’s going on
in our part of the state,” said
rancher and coalition member
Elias Eiguren.
The ad asks Oregonians to
let Gov. Kate Brown and U.S.
Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley, all Democrats, know
they are opposed to a monu-
ment designation without a
vote of Congress.
The proposed monument
designation is being pushed
by the Oregon Natural Desert
Association, an environmental
group based in Bend, and Port-
land’s Keen Footwear.
Supporters say they’re not
trying to eliminate grazing, but
instead want to prevent mining,
transmission lines and oil and
gas development. They tout a
poll they commissioned that
showed 70 percent of Oregon
residents supported permanent
protections for the Owyhee
Canyonlands, including 66
percent in Oregon’s 2nd Con-
gressional District where the
national monument would be
located.
Opponents believe monu-
ment supporters will ask the
Obama administration to use
Jordan
Valley
Burns
Junction
Idaho
Ore.
A sign displays local sentiment in the Jordan Valley opposing the
proposed Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument in Malheur
County, Ore. Opponents ran TV ads against the proposal during
the Democratic national convention.
Ow
78
95
Ore. McDermitt
Nev.
N
95
20 miles
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
the Antiquities Act to create
the national monument. They
oppose a monument designa-
tion through executive order.
Monument opponents re-
spond with their own poll re-
sults, which show 73 percent
of Oregonians believe that
national monument designa-
tions should be approved by
Congress rather than the pres-
ident.
In a news release. OBSC
Chairman Steve Russell, a
rancher, said Eastern Oregon
families “are searching for
a leader in the Democratic
party who will stand up for
rural Oregon. We face strong
opposition from well-funded
special interests and Port-
land-based corporations, and
our community needs a cham-
pion.”
Mackenzie said the mes-
sage of not designating a
national monument without
local input and a vote of Con-
gress is one that resonates
across party lines and the co-
alition believes it will enlist
more support as that message
reaches a larger audience.
“I don’t view this as a
Democrat or Republican
thing,” he said. “This is about
the health of the land and not
about any political party.”
Formed in March, the co-
alition has raised $370,000,
most of it from Malheur
County, Mackenzie said.
OBSC now includes more
than 6,000 members, a dozen
organizations and more than
three dozen elected leaders
from across Oregon, accord-
ing to the news release.
“We formed this coalition
to have a voice in the pro-
cess,” Mackenzie said. “This
has unifi ed the county and the
people here.”
Drought, markets prompt declines in California navel, Valencia acreage
By TIM HEARDEN
Capital Press
SACRAMENTO
—
Drought and market forces
have led to declines in acreage
for California navel and Valen-
cia oranges, though some oth-
er citrus varieties are gaining
ground.
Overall navel acreage saw
a net drop from 130,000 to
129,000 between the 2013-14
and 2014-15 seasons, and Va-
lencia orange acreage declined
from 36,000 to 34,000 during
the same period, according to
the National Agricultural Sta-
tistics Service.
However, lemon acreage
gained slightly, from 46,000
to 47,000, and mandarins and
their hybrids saw a signifi cant
increase, from 46,000 acres to
52,000, according to the agen-
cy’s 2016 California Citrus
Acreage Report. The declines
continue a trend for both vari-
eties, according to California
Citrus Mutual.
There’s no question that
Tim Hearden/Capital Press
An excavator takes out orange trees near Orange Cove, Calif., to
be chipped into biomass in April 2015. Navel and Valencia orange
acreage in California showed net declines from 2014 to 2015,
according to a National Agricultural Statistics Service report.
drought has played a key role,
said Chris Stambach, director
of industry relations for Cali-
fornia Citrus Mutual. A shutoff
of federal surface water to the
state’s prime citrus-growing
region in the eastern San Joa-
quin Valley in 2014 and 2015
prompted some growers to
bulldoze orchards, and some
haven’t been replanted.
“They didn’t have good
groundwater and they got cut
off” from their surface water
supply, Stambach said. “They
didn’t have a choice.”
But market forces have also
caused some growers to switch
varieties, he said. For instance,
smaller navels that were divert-
ed to the domestic market were
undercut by newer varieties
such as Tango mandarins and
Murcott oranges, which are
easier to peel, he said.
As the newer varieties be-
come more popular, they put a
squeeze on the domestic utili-
zation rates of navels, which af-
fects returns per grower, Stam-
bach said.
“I think the thing that’s go-
ing to drive acreage is going to
be price,” he said.
Navels have been the stan-
dard-bearer among citrus fruit
in recent years, and orchards
taken out of production in the
last two years have been par-
tially offset by recent plantings
in other areas that were just
coming online.
Navel oranges have been the
standard bearer among citrus
fruit in recent years. But Cit-
rus Mutual, a trade association
with more than 2,000 members,
estimates that navel acreage in
2016 is down to 120,783 acres
statewide, continuing a steady
decline from 134,906 acres in
2010.
In the top county for navels,
Tulare County, acreage has
dropped from 72,197 to 67,892
during that period, according to
the organization. Navel acre-
age is down in every county in
which the fruit is grown.
Valencia acreage has taken
a similar nosedive, from 42,540
statewide in 2010 to 29,906 this
summer, according to Citrus
Mutual. In Tulare County, the
leading county for Valencias,
acreage of the variety is down
to 12,763 from 17,061 in 2010,
the association observes.
But mandarin acreage has
ballooned from 38,826 to
58,941 statewide during the six-
year period. In Tulare County,
mandarin acreage has more
than doubled — from 9,813 in
2010 to 20,565 now, according
to Citrus Mutual. Fresno Coun-
ty mandarin ground has grown
from 14,762 acres to 20,251
during the period, according to
the organization.
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33-1/#5
33-1/#7
could face
challenge
By SEAN ELLIS
Capital Press
BOISE — Idaho farm
groups support a final pro-
posal by state regulators to
change Idaho’s crop residue
burning program. Environ-
mental groups, not so much.
Idaho Department of
Environmental Quality of-
ficials say the changes are
necessary to avoid a large
reduction in the number
of allowable burn days for
farmers.
People representing farm
groups and environmental
and public health advocates
have been meeting for sev-
eral months in an attempt to
reach an agreement on the
proposed changes.
Bluegrass farmer Jus-
tin McLeod, president of
the Nezperce Prairie Grass
Growers Association, said
his group is pleased with
DEQ’s final proposal, which
is subject to legislative ap-
proval.
“We feel like the health
concerns are being ad-
dressed and we also get to
continue our burn program,”
he said. “We’ll support DEQ
and help move (the propos-
al) forward.”
DEQ can only approve
a burn request if ozone and
small particulate matter lev-
els aren’t expected to exceed
75 percent of the national
standard for those air pollut-
ants.
Because EPA tightened
the federal ozone standard
in October, the number of
allowable burn days in some
parts of Idaho would be re-
duced by one-third to one-
half, according to DEQ es-
timates.
To avoid that scenario,
DEQ has proposed loosening
Idaho’s ozone standard to 90
percent of the federal stan-
dard. Environmental groups
said they would agree to that
as long as there was an eq-
uitable tightening of Idaho’s
small particulate matter, or
PM 2.5, standard.
DEQ’s fi nal proposal does
not change the current PM 2.5
standard.
An offi cial who represents
Safe Air For Everyone,
whose 2007 lawsuit resulted
in field burning being tem-
porarily stopped in Idaho,
said the group would chal-
lenge any proposal that does
not also tighten the PM 2.5
standard.
SAFE and other envi-
ronmental groups believe
a tightening of the PM 2.5
standard is necessary to off-
set any potential health im-
pacts from the changing of
the ozone standard.
But DEQ officials said
there is no scientific evi-
dence that shows tightening
the PM 2.5 standard would
protect public health any
more than the current stan-
dard. It could reduce the
number of burn days, how-
ever.
Smoke from field burn-
ing doesn’t increase ozone
concentrations in the same
manner that it does PM 2.5
levels, said Mary Anderson,
who manages DEQ’s crop
residue burning program.
She said what really pro-
tects the public from smoke
impacts are the rest of the
program’s
requirements,
which include factoring in
meteorological conditions,
moisture content and burn
characteristics of the material
to be burned, and lower trig-
gers for burns occurring near
sensitive populations.
“It’s the whole program
that really protects the public
from smoke impacts ... and
that’s not being changed at
all,” she said.
DEQ’s decision not to
change the PM 2.5 stan-
dard was supported by farm
groups.
“No best available science
has been presented to warrant
a reduction in PM 2.5,” Ida-
ho-Eastern Oregon Seed As-
sociation Executive Director
Roger Batt said in comments
submitted to DEQ. “The EPA
has not tightened the PM 2.5
standards. These standards
should not be on the table.”