August 12, 2016
CapitalPress.com
5
‘Crazy snake worm’ unearthed in Oregon
Ammonium
sulfate imports
from China
Invasive species
Annual volume and value
totals since 2013 ...
Volume (U.S. tons)
Value (U.S. dollars)
$68.3 million
$60.2
million
$10.3
million
369,566
228,997
47,236
2013
2014
2015
... and annual average unit
value since 2013.
$263
$218
could impact forest
water retention
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A new invasive species,
known as the “crazy snake
worm” or “Asian jumping
worm,” has been unearthed
for the first time in Oregon.
The Oregon Department
of Agriculture has con-
firmed that the worm, Amy-
nthas agresitis, was found
in Clackamas and Josephine
counties in 2016.
The significant distance
between the two discoveries
likely indicates the species
is probably found elsewhere
in Oregon as well, said Clint
Courtesy of Oregon Department of Agriculture
This close-up image shows the “Asian jumping worm.” The Oregon
Department of Agriculture confi rmed that the worm, Amynthas
agresitis, was found in Clackamas and Josephine counties in 2016.
Burfitt, manager of ODA’s
insect pest prevention and
management program.
Residential landowners
turned the worms over to
officials from ODA and the
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife after noticing
its vigorous flipping.
“The behavior is very
distinctive,” Burfitt said.
“Earthworms aren’t known
for their energetic behavior,
but this one is.”
The worm’s detrimental
effects on forest health have
also been causing growing
concern in the Great Lakes
region and the East Coast,
said Jim Labonte, an ODA
entomologist.
“There’s beginning to be
a lot of attention to be paid
to this there,” he said.
Several pathways may be
responsible for the worm’s
movement, including earth-
moving equipment, compost
and fishermen, he said. The
species reproduces asexual-
ly, so not many individuals
are necessary for an estab-
lished population.
By rapidly consuming
the detritus along the forest
floor, the worms remove the
protective layer that plant
seeds need to sprout and
outcompete other animals
that depend on this habitat.
“That affects the forest’s
ability to regenerate,” Burf-
itt said.
Bare soil isn’t as effec-
tive as retaining water, al-
lowing it to run off more
quickly — potentially hav-
ing an impact on agricul-
ture, said LaBonte.
The change in soil struc-
ture also disrupts nutrient
cycling, harming the for-
est’s health over time, he
said.
At this point, though, it’s
unknown whether these im-
pacts will be experienced in
Oregon as they have else-
where in the U.S., since the
forest type and climate here
are different, LaBonte said.
“When you’re making
projections, it’s easy to go to
‘The sky is falling,’” he said.
“Sometimes that happens,
sometimes it doesn’t.”
$185
2013
2014
2015
Source: U.S. International Trade Commission
Capital Press graphic
Feds fi nd
‘reasonable
indication’
of Chinese
fertilizer
dumping
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
Federal trade offi cials have
determined there’s a “reason-
able indication” that U.S. fer-
tilizer producers are harmed
by Chinese “dumping” of am-
monium sulfate fertilizer at
unfair prices.
Depressed prices for the
fertilizer aren’t due to lower
demand from U.S. farmers
for the nitrogen source, since
consumption of the fertilizer
has increased while Chinese
imports gained in market
share, according to the U.S.
International Trade Commis-
sion.
Imports of ammonium sul-
fate from other countries have
fallen, so they’re not the like-
ly culprit for declining prices,
either, the USITC’s prelimi-
nary report found.
Given these fi ndings, the
USITC and U.S. Department
of Commerce have begun the
fi nal phase of their investiga-
tions, which may result in fed-
eral duties aimed at offsetting
alleged Chines subsidies and
dumping.
Farmers use ammonium
nitrate as a specialty fertil-
izer, since it adds sulfur as
well as nitrogen to the soil.
Earlier this year, PCI Ni-
trogen of Pasadena, Texas,
filed a complaint with fed-
eral trade agencies, alleging
that an eightfold increase in
Chinese imports of the fer-
tilizer since 2013 have driv-
en down wholesale prices
25 percent, to $164 per
short ton, in the U.S.
Ammonium sulfate is a
byproduct of steel and ny-
lon manufacturing, both of
which are subsidized by the
Chinese government with
preferential loans, reduced
export tariffs and lower tax-
es, the complaint said.
PCI Nitrogen wants to
forestall a further drop in
prices for the fertilizer,
since China is greatly ex-
panding its production ca-
pacity for the product as
shipments to the U.S. were
on track to rise 60 percent
in 2016 over last year, the
company claimed.
Last year, China export-
ed more than $700 million
worth of ammonium sul-
fate to countries around the
globe, with about $68 mil-
lion ending up in the U.S.,
according to USITC’s re-
port.
Mexico began applying
antidumping duties of $84-
$154 per short ton of am-
monium sulfate from China
last year, depending on the
manufacturer, the report
said.
Falling number problems persist for Wash. farmers
Usually resilient,
hard red winter
wheat losses
‘severe’
Online
http://smallgrains.wsu.edu/
reduce-economic-loss/
By MATTHEW WEAVER
Capital Press
SPOKANE
VALLEY,
Wash. — This year’s wheat
crop looks great on the out-
side.
But what’s on the inside
could leave Washington
wheat growers with less
than market price.
Much, much less.
Grain elevators use
the Hagberg-Perten fall-
ing number test to mea-
sure starch damage due to
sprouting. A low falling
number indicates a high
level of alpha amylase,
an enzyme that degrades
starch and diminishes the
quality of wheat products.
Grain with a falling
number below 300 typical-
ly receives a discount in
the Pacific Northwest. Rain
and temperature fluctua-
tions are the primary cause.
Farmers have been hit
“pretty severely” across
multiple varieties and en-
vironments, said Aaron
Esser, Washington State
University Extension area
agronomist in Lincoln and
Adams counties.
“Farmers have gotten
docked pretty heavily three
out of the last four years up
here for quality, two years
for falling number, last year
for protein,” Esser said. “It
starts adding up.”
This year, some hard red
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Taylor Keeton, program specialist, calculates the falling number for a wheat sample Aug. 9 at the
Washington State Department of Agriculture grain inspection offi ce in Spokane Valley. At right, techni-
cian Mike Espinoza washes beakers from the test.
winter wheat in the Daven-
port, Wash., area could po-
tentially receive less than
$1 per bushel due to falling
number, Esser said. Hard
red winter wheat prices
ranged from $4.60 to $5.20
per bushel on the Portland
market.
Most
falling
num-
ber problems are likely
pre-harvest sprouting, said
Camille Steber, USDA Ag-
ricultural Research Service
plant molecular geneticist
in Pullman, Wash.
It is not usually a prob-
lem in red-colored grain
because it has more seed
dormancy. But based on Es-
ser’s report, the Davenport
area got so much rain that
even the hard red wheat is
having serious problems,
Steber said.
“We had the right combi-
nation of rain combined with
cooler temperatures,” Steber
said.
“It would have been one
hell of a bumper crop if it
weren’t for falling numbers,”
said Mark Marshall, supervi-
sor for the Washington State
Department of Agriculture
grain inspection offi ce in Spo-
kane Valley. Test weights and
protein levels are normal, he
said.
State grain inspection of-
fi ces in Spokane Valley and
Pasco are working double
shifts on Saturdays and Sun-
days to meet the demand for
falling number tests on top of
‘Drone rodeo’ in Pendleton will
showcase agricultural technology
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Organizers say a two-day
“drone rodeo” in Pendle-
ton, Ore., this month will
demonstrate the future of
digital agriculture.
The event will be held
Aug. 18-19 at the Pendleton
Airport. The site is one of
the national unmanned aeri-
al system (UAS) test ranges
and has become a focus of
Pendleton’s economic de-
velopment efforts. Part of
the facility is now called the
Oregon UAS Future Farm,
and is intended be a proving
grounds for equipment de-
veloped by digital agricul-
ture pioneers.
Steve Chrisman, Pend-
leton’s economic develop-
ment director and airport
director, said drone and
high-tech ag companies are
attracted by Pendleton’s
wide open spaces and the
wide variety of crops grown
in the region. While digital
ag doesn’t have the eco-
nomic impact of a 250-em-
ployee manufacturing plant,
it does have a ripple effect,
Chrisman said.
The presence of flight
test teams can lead to com-
panies renting office space
or workshop space, he said.
A Virginia company, Dig-
ital Harvest, has opened a
branch office in Pendleton.
“A certain percentage will
take up some level of per-
manent residence,” Chris-
man said.
Industry advocates be-
lieve agriculture is on its
way to being one of first
commercial adopters of
drone technology. Equipped
with cameras or other sen-
sors, drones could spot ir-
rigation or pest problems,
estimate yield, do invento-
ry or other chores. In time,
drones could communicate
directly with other un-
manned farm implements,
and send them to take care
of problems spotted from
the air.
The event is aimed at
farmers, and will include
flight and data-downloading
demonstrations of various
types of unmanned vehicles.
“It’s an opportunity for
growers and drone guys to
be in the field together,”
said Jeff Lorton, the event’s
promoter and organizer.
The event includes a
competition, of sorts. Op-
erators will program their
aircraft to launch from the
airport, fly to a nearby irri-
gation pivot and record data
with their cameras or other
sensors before returning.
“It’s a bit of a shootout,”
Lorton said.
Admission to the event
is free but registration is re-
quired.
typical harvest grading, said
Eastern Washington regional
manager Don Potts.
The offi ce in Colfax,
Wash., will extend hours as
needed.
Potts estimated 80 percent
of club wheats are experienc-
ing falling number problems,
and roughly 10 percent of soft
white wheat, higher in some
areas.
“We’ve had some (falling
number test results) in the
hundreds — 116, 130,” Potts
said.
The Spokane offi ce runs
220 falling number tests per
day, Potts said. He com-
pares this year to 2013, when
12,000 falling number tests
were conducted, unheard of at
the time.
Grain inspection offi ces
are working to send out re-
sults within three business
days, Potts said.
“Unfortunately, we’re be-
coming experts at something
we don’t want to be experts
at,” Potts said.
He recommends growers
pay strict attention to their va-
rieties, and which are suscep-
tible to temperature extremes.
Esser is working to offer
more falling number informa-
tion as farmers make planting
decisions.
“I don’t think farmers
should completely overreact
to the falling number issue,
but I think they have to keep
it in the back of their mind,”
Esser said.
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